My Life is a Shakespearean Play
by Nomia
Summary: Cindy has grown up and is heading off to college, leaving behind a uncaring mother, a not so perfect EXboyfriend, and plenty more. She dives headfirst into her new life...right into MORE trouble and a stranger from the past she had thought long gone.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: You know, I can't count how many angsty and complicated relationship's I've read in the 7-hundred odd Jimmy Neutron fics there are: Cindy leaves him, Jimmy's the bad guy, both have emotional problems, one has chicken pox and the other has never had it before, (Ooh, good one. I'm going to have to make a note of that.) Those are…okay, but after the first 10 or so, you start to want some good, pointless FLUFF! So, when I was making top romen one day, this idea came out of nowhere, and since I am sitting here at three a.m. on a school night with nothing to do, I will present to you my first attempt at a Jimmy Neutron fic. You obviously thought well enough of it to open it up, so enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Jimmy Neutron. (yet…)

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_Tap, tap, tap, tap._

Cindy sat with her chin in her hand, staring out the window to her left. She was daydreaming again, not even bothering to pretend to listen to her teacher.

_Tap, tap, tap, tap._

This had become a habit for her during the past few years or so. She would zone out entirely, thinking about. . .well, everything. She had improved her subtility over time and now was only caught every other week slacking off, while notes gone home reporting her failure as a student, not giving her studies the proper attention, from years past nearly filled a kitchen drawer. (She had even once fallen asleep, only to be woken by the laughter of her World History class when she had called out… well, it was just too painful to remember. The incident still brought a blush to her cheeks.)

And it was all _his _fault.

_Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap._

Cindy sighed in frustration and slid the pencil she had been tapping on her desk behind her ear. She peeked out from behind her curtain of hair at the girl on her right.

Libby was intently taking notes – as any proper, prim, _successful _(Cindy's mother was constantly pulling that one out) student would do – as their teacher droned on and on about atoms. (A fascinating subject. . . . in perhaps the fifth grade. Or a mild form of hell. At the moment, Cindy was almost positive she had had more fun watching sheetrock than listening to this lecture.)

Libby looked up from her paper at Cindy. She crossed her eyes and let her tongue hang from the side of her mouth. Cindy smiled and chuckled inaudiably, glad to know she was not alone in her state of tedium.

She sighed again and switched the positions of her hands, as her left arm was beginning to fall asleep. She looked up at the chalkboard at the front of the classroom, just behind the teacher, and removed the pencil from beneath her layers of hair to copy some of the notes into her worn, fraying notebook.

_Structure of the Atom - the atom consists of a central, positively charged core, the nucleus, and negatively charged particles called electrons that are found in orbits around the nucleus. . . _

Cindy remembered how he always wore that stupid shirt. He must have had them made in bulk or something. Not only that, he had deemed it as "his symbol" and put it on every malfunctioning piece of metal he called a revolutionary invention.

But it wasn't as though she cared, because she didn't. James Isaac Neutron could do whatever he pleased and she, Cindy Vortex, _would not care._

Besides, he wasn't even around anymore for her to not care about. He had left, forever, clear across the country. If God truly was merciful, she would never see him again. He. Was. _Gone_.

The results from the mandatory end-of-the-year tests after Miss Fowl's fateful class had been the start of it all; Jimmy's scores had blasted off the charts. After many questions as to the idiot who had withheld his test scores all his elementary school years was, Jimmy was moved forward a year into the 8th grade. However, tests before the start of term were enough to move him on to high school.

The Neutron's had moved to the east coast a few weeks before Cindy would start eighth grade; Jimmy's second year of high school. She had prayed with all her might that he would get landed in some town with minimal education programs, cut science budgets, and a bad case of the chicken pox going around.

Butthen, who was she kidding; as she was sitting listening to the dryest thing since the besetment of dust, Neutron was most likely off in some all-expense paid college.

He didn't need it, though. Aside from the obvious reasoning his I.Q. had been above the standar college student's for more than a decade, there was the resentful fact he was rolling in it. He had been hit with some impecable stroke of luck, several of his inventions were compiled into workable forms, patented, and sold to science research facilities all over the country, including NASA. He was probably _funding _his college.

"Miss Vortex!" A strident voice snapped her out of her reverie.

Trying not to wince, Cindy looked up from the window she had once again been staring out of with intense yearning. She warily replied, "Yes, Mr. Phillips?"

The old man scowled down at her, displeasure visable through the numerous wrinkles swallowing his face.

_You would think the old windbag would have retired before he hit the triple diget, _Cindy thought demurely to herself.

"Since you deem yourself so worthy as not to listen, perhaps you could tell the class: what is the mass of a neutron?" Mr. Phillips rasped, peering down at her nastily.

"Should be more, concidering how much pie they eat," Cindy responded sincerely, picking at a rapidly disappearing corner of her worn notebook cover. Mr. Phillips was not amused – nor comprehending.

"What?"

"I don't know, Mr. Phillips," Cindy supplied dully, irritation illy disguised.

"Not uncommon words to pass your lips, I presume, with the ammount of daydreaming I've seen you do," Mr. Phillips snorted, shaking the clipboard in his spider-like fingers feebley at her. "Here's another one for you, I'll speak slowly so you can hear me: what is the _charge_ of a neutron?"

Cindy was highly insulted, more so because she truly _had_ known the answer. Past experiences had simply rebuilt her instincts, which told her to play naïve. Teachers often left her alone after her first failed attempt to answer a question, thinking the mortification from looking stupid in front of her peers was a reasonable enough punishment for slacking off and would discourage her from doing so again. (It gave Cindy a vindictive pleasure to know their conniving was going to waste on her without them even knowing it.)

Mr. Phillips, though, was an exception. No human on earth was going to stand before her and throw such juvinile insults at her without having several smacked forcefully back. Flippantly, she sneered, "It doesn't have an electric charge, _sir_."

Once again, a ripple of offence wiggled in her stomach, leaving a bad taste in her mouth, as the look on Mr. Phillips' face transformed from annoyance to incredulity. The nerve!

"And the quark composition?" he barked.

"The quark compostion of what, _sir_," Cindy crooned, voice dripping with over-sarcastic sweetness. She sucked at the inside of her lower lip, doing her best not to scowl or glare _too _deeply.

"Of a neutron, you ridiculous girl!" Mr. Phillips growled, smoldering in his own irritation. "What else would I be speaking of!"

"Well, _I _wouldn't know, _sir_," Cindy glowered back, able to keep a straighter face with the obdurate knowledge she had vexed her "superior". "You used a partial fragment. I couldn't _possibly _decifer what you really ment when you didn't ask me a full question." Spitefully, she added, "It could be the daydreaming catching up on me, though."

Cindy fully expected to be written up and set to the principal's office; or a _counselor_, because she _must_ have gone insane. At the very least, it seemed unlikely she would be remaining in the classroom. She welcomed it, urged it on internally. If she were kicked out immeadiately, she might even have time to make it to the girl's bathroom and avoid a possible confrontation with her ever-returning, guileless ex.

Much to her dismay and confusion – as well as the confusion her classmates, who had been watching on with anticipation and bated breath – she was simply sneered at and turned away from. Highly ruffled, she turned back to Libby, who was unsuccessfully trying to hide a smile behind her hand.

"I fail to see what's so funny." Cindy hissed at her.

"_You_ would, wouldn't you?" Libby whispered back at her. "You memorize text books in your spare time, but you don't see the hysterics in using them for your twisted will!"

"I do nothing of the sort!" Cindy snapped, a bit louder than she had intended.

Mr. Phillips spun around from his place at the chalk board to glare at her, an eyebrow raised. Cindy looked down at the top of her desk until he had turned back around and continued to write.

"That was the most asinine display of the year!" she hissed, keeping her volume in check. "There should be some sort of medal."

Libby rolled her eyes. "Girl, for which one of you? You didn't have t'bite back." Cindy snorted at this. "Geeze, I haven't seen you this riled up about some stupid science fact in fo_'ever_. Not for –" She stopped, suddenly looking like she knew more than Cindy did. Cindy groaned in anticipation of what her friend would say.

"Not since Jimmy left," Libby gloated, smirking in a very irritating manner.

Cindy poked the lead of her pencil through her bottle green notebook cover savagly. "Better years of my life were wasted proving him wrong, and with only a winning percent of 10.77! I ask you, is that worth it?"

"Of course not, idiot!" Libby snarled, accidentally poking a hole through a page in her own notebook by turning too quickly to glare at her. "Least, didn't think so up til now. I been thinkin' him moving away's been doin' EVERYone some good, not just you. 'Cuz if _I_ wasn't annoyed to hell by you two duking it out, I'm sure there are other people who were. But now I see why you're so grumpy all th' time: you _need_ him!"

"Oh, and _I'm _the asinine moron," Cindy growled, pulling at the hole left by her pencil with a finger.

Libby gasped. "That's it! You really do, him too, I'll bet! You got it all out on each other, and I got the good stuff left over. Dang that boy, I'm going to have to drag him back here –" she gasped again. "You miss him."

"What!" Cindy screeched, ripping a large piece entirely away from her notebook in agitation. "I do not!"

"Right right, your denial," Libby cajoled, eyes shining with her deduced victory. "You need the mind-numbing knowledge to battle with! You're _bor_ – oh, my gosh, you're bored!"

The pity and heartbreak Libby discerned her with was too much for Cindy to tolerate. Irately, she grumbled, "Would you let it be? I'm not _bored_, and I'm not going to die!"

"Girl, I'm so sorry," Libby mumbled, already speaking as though Cindy's latter reassurance had contrarily passed. "I really wish there was somethin' I could do for you, but we all learn at a noraml, human pace… some of us even – er, slower than expected."

She glanced over at Sheen, who was using the point of his pencil to shave away bits of a large, pink eraser, leaving only a lump that somewhat resembled Ultra Lord. Morbidly, she added, "Gonna have to bear with us til you can head off to a smart-people college. We're not all like Jimmy, you know."

"Thank God for that," Cindy huffed.

Libby shrugged. Suspiciously. And she looked like she was hiding a smirk once more. Cindy was enraged at this and was about to say something back when the bell for lunch rang.

Libby lept up as though her chair had suddenly caught fire, gathering up her things hurridly and rushing out the door. Cindy, not about to let that pass so quickly, snatched up her bag and ran after, almost colliding with Carl.

"Sorry," she said, turning to make sure he was all right.

"That's okay, I'm fine." he said to her, clutching his chest and pulling out his inhaler. She spun back around to look for Libby, but smashed into someone else. . . a very tall, solid someone else, wearing too much of a pungent designer cologne.

_Lord, give me strength, _Cindy thought, bracing herself before she opened her eyes. As expected, Nick was standing directly in front of her, no space between them due to their crash. She took a step back, wishing she could go more, but the restraint of Nick's hands on her upper arms prevented that.

"Hey, babe," he said silkily, combonation of over-bearing mint added to his cologne making her eyes and nose itch. He flashed that smirk she hated so much, the one she had melted over in 6th grade. She didn't attempt to hide her displeasure at the situation.

"Nick," she said forcefully, removing his hands from her arms. "I really don't have time for this. I need to go find Libby."

She began walking away when his arm reached out again for her. Forcefully, she turned back to him, ready to give him a swift punch if needed. "Hey, come on," he said to her, trying vainly to be suave and "cool". "Why won't you sit with me any more? People are starting to think you aren't my girl anymore."

Cindy took a deep breath and said with a small sneer, "I'm _not_ your girl. First off, I don't and have never belonged to _any_body, and second, I told you we should see other people."

Nick, slowley closing the space between them, said, "Well, I don't see you with anybody else," – he pretended to look around me, feigning surprise when he saw no one – "and I'm not with anybody else right now, so who's to say we can't just stay where we are, hmm?"

Cindy narrowed her eyes at him in deep disgust. "_I'm_ to say, that's who." With that, she wrenched her arm free from his grasp and marched down the stairs. She ran all the way to the door and out into the fresh, May air, hardley hearing Nick calling after her.

She didn't stop running until she came to the doors leading into the cafeteria. She burst through them and headed straight for the table Libby and she usually sat at. Libby looked up as Cindy came huffing over, a look a genuine concern appearing on her face.

"Girl, what happened?" she asked, watching Cindy attempting to flatten out her wildly blow hair and catch her breath. Cindy only scowled and plopped into the chair next to her best friend. She managed to growl out, "Nick."

Libby wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Girl, you need to talk to that boy and seriously tell him to back off."

"I _have_," Cindy sighed exasperatedly. "He's just too stupid to get it!"

Libby gave her the familiar, loathsome look of true pity, but Cindy had already taken a few deep, calming breaths. She had her eyes closed, but she opened them when Libby said, "I still don't see why you don't just Tai Chi him into leaving you alone. Might just get somethin' through that thick skull of his."

Cindy smiled and allowed a small laugh. "It's only to be used for self-defence," she explained. "and, despite how many arguments can be made out that I _am_ defending myself, the school won't buy it, and I'm not looking forward to suspension 3 weeks away from my graduation… but oh do I want to hit him."

Libby shrugged, smiling down at the thick binder on the table before her. Sheen came up behind them, balancing two lunch trays.

"For m'lady," he announced grandly, setting one of the trays in front of Libby with a flourish. "For her knight in armor," – he placed the second tray at his spot at the table – "And for she who loves Pepsi."

"Thanks," Cindy replied, catching the bottle of soda he had tossed at her one-handedly. She opened it after the fizz had simmered down and took a long, grateful swig. Oh, the wonders of modern preservitives.

"Nick again?" Sheen asked her sympathetically. Cindy looked at him, amazed.

"Yeah," she said languidly. "How'd you know?"

Sheen shrugged. "Mind-reading powers. Came with my Ultra Lord utility belt." He looked down at his tray and dug into his mashed potatoes, thinking nothing of what he had just said. Cindy, still amazed at his odd antics and 'mind-reading powers' looked to Libby. She only smiled and shrugged.

Cindy gave another small chuckle and cupped her cheek into her hand again, resting her elbow on the table. "So," she said, taking one of Libby's fries and dipping it into the small cup of ketchup. "where is Carl on this fine day? I ran into him a while ago; where did he go?"

Libby giggled, but Sheen sat up in his chair, stared straight ahead, and proudly brought his fist up to his chest. "Today," he said, sounding very much like an army official. "Carl… has become a man."

He thumped himself in the chest, following it with a tumultuous "Ow!" that broke the dramatic and manly show he had been attempting. Despite thi, Cindy was intrigued.

"Oh?" she coerced. "How so?"

Sheen regained his proud stanc, rubbing his sternum ruefully, and said with stately drawing-out of the words, "Carl has left our humble eating-place this day to be in the delightful company of…a _girl._"

Cindy was not all too surprised by this. Out of all of them, Carl had certainly changed the most. After gaining control of his weight, he had grown to be rather handsome. He had even managed some sense of order over his unruly curls by letting them grow out into a wild mop that was oddly fitting for him.

"He met her in the library last week, nearly fell on her trying to use a step-ladder to get some book for his Eglish project," Libby said. In sudden rememberance, she gasped, "Speaking of which, we've got to go finish that, Sheen!" Looking apologetically over at Cindy, she and Sheen rose. "Do you mind if we leave you? You could come with, if you want…"

"No, no that's ok," Cindy said, glancing up at her. "I've got to get some work done myself."

Libby stared down cryptically at her for a few more moments before offering a small, encouraging smile. "If you say so, girl. I'll talk to you later, ok?" She swept her thin, waist-length braids behind her ear as Cindy nodded and gave a smile of her own. Still looking rather contrite, she left for the library with Sheen's arm around her waist.

Sighing lamentfully , Cindy grabbed her bag and soda bottle and stood, leaving the cafeteria to sit at one of the outside tables. She even smiled brightly at Mr. Phillips as she passed by him. However, she regretted going outside as she sat down in the middle of several tables of laughing friends and snuggling couples.

_What a bunch of saps,_ she thought to herself while watching the latter. But then, there was that small twing of something deep inside her, but she pushed it away. There was _no way_ she would want that.

Looking around to avoid unpleasant eye-contact, something even more repulsive caught her eye. An over-bearing, fasionable, wears-too-much-cologne repulsion, and Cindy shuddered as he caught sight of her and began weaving his way through the crowds toward her.

W_ell, _she thought to herself, glancing at the happy couples, _perhaps something like that might be good right about now…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Nickelodeon can have Jimmy Neutron so long as I get Carl. LLAMAS RULE!

A/N: I'M SO SORRY! I finished this WEEKS ago and ment to post it, but it got stored onto some floppy that was packed away and I only just found it! I hope you aren't too upset and/or dissapointed with this chapter.

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The disgruntledteenager lifted his head from the desk as the bell rang, just in time to see the last of the students filter into the classroom. He muttered under his breath at the tactlessness of his class as he ran his hands through his hair, sighing and staring around the room. It was their grades and he couldn't do anything to change their habits…well, he supposed he _could…_no. They just weren't worth the materials. 

He was rummaging about in his bag, looking for his notebook, when a young man about his age walked up to his desk.

"Hello!" he said brightly. Then, looking into Jimmy's face, asked sympathetically, "Rough morning?"

Jimmy could only grunt in response. The young man laughed.

"Yeah, I've had those days. We all have." He said in an understanding tone. "Thank God it's Friday, right?"

"Ah, yes," Jimmy drawled sarcastically. "Friday. No longer can I sit in the peace and quiet, getting work done like we _all _should be," – he paused to stare pointedly at the student in front of him - "I am now able to do it in the midst of a six dozen partying college students. Indeed, there is nothing more I look forward to than a Friday night."

The young man only smiled at the spiteful look that had appeared on Jimmy's face when he had spat out the last few words and shrugged. "You should try joining us some time. It's really not as bad as you make it out to be."

Jimmy snorted in disbelief, but said nothing more on the matter.

"Anyways," the young man continued. "I have a few questions on the lesson we had the other day. Do y'think you could help me out?"

Jimmy looked up at him defeatedlywith half closed eyes and a sigh. "Isn't that all I'm here for, Cody?" he asked the young man dryly, running a hand through his hair again, making it stand on end.

Cody mearly smiled down at him hopefully. Jimmy shook his head and leaned over the paper Cody had put on his desk to see what damage could be repaired.

Of course, he didn't really do the work for Cody, but mearly helped him "understand the meaning". Nevertheless, it gave Jimmy the same impression, and, he might add, it was one he had never really been fond of before. College made no difference.

A form of understanding was reached at Cody's part before the class began. And a rather interesting class it was; deep discussions and debates between the students were being ricocheted back and forth, a rather unusual turn of events, but Jimmy was glad his class was in the mood to put forth participation. _End of the semester, _he thought to himself. _Finally realizing applying yourself actually works. _But he was, by no means, going to complain. The stress he had been under as of late was enough to leave even a genius buckling. He too was looking forward to the end of the semester, no matter how much he denied it to Cody.

Jimmy got through the session only having to put forth minimal effort. Still, he let out a sigh of relief when the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. A good lunch might just be enough to revive him for his final two classes of the day. Of course…

_Isn't it_ so _interesting,_ Jimmy thought angrily to himself, _that the world insists on doing whatever it can to contradict your plans?_

He hurried down the front steps and to the shade of a tall, unoccupied pine tree, plopping down underneath it with relief. Ok, so perhaps he was exaggerating a bit.

_No, _he thought_. Certainly not._

He had encountered several more students on his way out. Normally, he welcomed this interaction, but today he wanted nothing more than to be left alone. Why was he in such an aweful mood?

He pulled out his laptop and flipped it open with abeholden sigh and noticed the small flashing mail icon. He clicked it open, the smile he had put on when reading it was from Carl vanished when he read deeper in. Oh, yes. That's why. . .

Inside was information about the graduation at Retroville High School, taking place that very night. Jimmy sighed and leaned back against the tree, running his hands through his hair, a subconcious habit he had formed. No matter how much he would deny it to himself or any one, he missed it back home, and he would give anything to be there with his old friends and join them as they walked side by side in the graduation. He missed them all. Even – well…yes, he even missed Cindy. The lack of competition without her was very dull. No one had nearly the same fire Cindy always had in her eyes. He sighed and stood, gathering up his things and heading back towards the school.

He breezed through the final two hours of his day almost effortlessly, a stiacciato of hope kindled by the though of finishing Goddard's moderations when he returned home. When he finally slid into the driver's seat of his car, he sighed exhaustedly. The weekend….how fabulous. He drove the short distance to his apartment as quickly as the law would allow him, where he was greeted upon entering by Goddard.

"Hey boy!" Jimmy said happily, dropping his things and kneeling down to pet him. Reeves -- quite literally --popped up beside him.

"May I take your things, sir?" he asked in his proper British accent, not waiting for an answer before picking up the items that had been abandoned by Jimmy upon his arrival.

"Thanks," Jimmy said, standing with Goddard in his arms.

"Is there anything I can get you, sir?" Reeves asked politly.

"I could use a Purple Flurp, if I have any," he said. The prototype hologram nodded and dissapeared. Jimmy smiled. Reeves certainly was more up to date than the holographic butler his father had blown up on a very eventful camping trip…

Jimmy frowned at the memory. Although the trip hadn't been a particularily unhappy one, remembering his friends and the fact they would be experiencing graduation without him in only a few hours him made his small apartment seem even emptier.

Goddard barked in his arms. Jimmy looked down at him and smiled again. Out of all his experiments, Goddard was, by far, his greatest. (Not to mention, one of the few that worked properly, did not cause explosions, invasions of pants, mutations of the cells, creating death-inflicting super powers, or eat girls.)

Jimmy rolled his eyes as he walked tohis over-stuffedsofa, his smile dwindling to a small scowl. He sounded just like Cindy…

But he didn't want to think about Cindy. Why would he? She was a dozen state-lines away and probably gloating at the easy valedictorian position she had obtained, coming up with as many ways as possible to insult him in the speech she would be giving very soon. Oh, how he would love to see the look on her face if he were to be there. That would teach her a thing or two…

Goddard jumped off Jimmy's lap as he stood with a sudden and strange determination. He rushed out of his apartment with Reeves calling after, "Will you be needing anything, sir?"

The door slammed behind him as he rushed out and came to a near collision with a pair of people in the hallway walking the opposite way as him. One of the two young ladies called after him as he continued his rush past, "Hey Jimmy! We're going over to Tony's to hang. Care to join?" Jimmy slowed his quick pace only the slightest as he called over his shoulder, "Maybe later, Sky. I've really got to be somewhere!"

"You always do!" Sky's companion called after him. Both girls giggled and entered a room farther down the hall, loud rock music pouring out before they closed the door behind them and cut it off. Jimmy rolled his eyes and punched the elevator button impatiantly several more times. Honestly…why hadn't he thought of it before? He lept into the elevator as the doors opened and jabbed the button for the lobby. It seemed to take an eternity as it rattled down slowly, opening with a soft _ping!_ when it finally reached the ground level. Jimmy bolted out, nearly running into several more people attempting to enter.

"Sorry!" he called back over his shoulder, not stopping hismad-dash for the door, across the parking lot, and to his garage.

"Hah!" he cried out in triumph as he opened the door. "And who ever said nano-technology couldn't be perfected into a 875-horsepower turbine jet-booster to create travle the speed of sound by hovercraft?" He ripped the dust covering off his hover car and shoved it in a drawer. He vaulted himself into his seat and was reaching for the key when he paused.

Why in the world was he doing this? He didn't have to prove anything to anybody. Cindy's life was her own, and he didn't care in the slightest…..

_Hah,_ Jimmy thought to himself, the winds ripping through his hair. _Don't flatter Cindy into thinking this is for her. I can go see my friends if I want…_

His last trip back _had_ been over 4 months ago; it would be good to see them again. Yes…that's it…

He landed his hover car in the old park behind a small grove of trees. He smiled and walked down the path, hands in his pockets andhumming a tunelessly. It didn't take him long to find his way to Retroville High School. (The blaring music and ceaseless talking and shoutingcould be heard from half a mile away.)

Jimmy weaved his way through the crowds, several people turning to stare at him as he passed, many of them students he knew in elementary school. He smiled and winked at a young girl in her graduation gown who was staring at him as he approached. She and her friends giggled loudly and scuttled away. Jimmy rolled his eyes heavenwards at the ridiculous immaturities of high school students. Although, he was their exact age, perhaps even younger than quite a number of them. It was odd how the responsibility of college had changed him.

"Hey Jimmy!" a voice shouted from behind him. Jimmy spun around, a grin stretching fom ear to ear, to see his two best friends running up to him.

"Hey guys!" he said jovially. "How are you?"

"Oh, man!" Sheen shouted, his left eye twitching uncontrolably. "This is like, the most amazing expeience of my young life!"

"Hyeah! Tell me about it!" Carl said, blowing a stray curl out of his eyes. "We totally weren't expecting you to be here! This will only enhance the wonderful experience of the literal steps we take from our old life into a new and amazing one."

"Whatever, Carl," Sheen said, throwing an arm around Jimmy's shoulders in a brotherly way. "I'm just glad he's here to flash that college i.d. when we stop by the liquor store!"

Jimmy ducked out from under Sheen's arm and gave him a scolding look. Sheen however, had no time to look abashed as Libby walked up to the trio looking very frazzled and as though she were going to give her boyfriend a sound peice of her mind.

"Sheen, come on, we gotta go get in line before you hurt – " she stopped when she spotted Jimmy. Her mouth hung open for a second or two before she squealed happily and pulled him into a hug.

"Lord, Jimmy! How are you! Ooh, I havn't seen you in fo'_eva! _How've you been? And what are you doing here?" She said this all in one breath and very quickly. She pulled back and smiled up at him with a questioning look.

Jimmy laughed and smiled back at her. "Thought I'd just stop by again. It's been a while –"

"What do you mean 'again'? _I _havn't seen you since you left!" She glared over at Sheen and Carl. "Did you two know about this?"

Sheen sighed and shook his head. "So young, so naïve. What other lives shall be wasted in the days of our generation?" He cried the question into the heavens, throwing his head back and arms out.

Calr punched his arm. "Oh, come on, Sheen. It's not her fault that she spends every waking moment with Cindy, causing her to waste endless hours in shopping malls and amusement parks and there-by missing all moments Jimmy spent visiting."

Jimmy, his smile having grown impossibly larger as his two best friends spoke, glanced back at Libby. She only rolled her eyes and shook her head, the long braids in her ponytail swinging back and forth. An announcement over a loud-speaker boomed that the ceremony would begin momentarily.

"Let's go!" Libby cried. She grabbed Sheen by the wrist and began walking off, calling her goodbyes to Jimmy over her shoulder.

"See ya later, Jim," Carl waved, also following Libby, "You'll be coming with us to the party afterwards?"

"Maybe," Jimmy called, waving back and walking off sadly to find a place to observe the cerimony with being seen. He settled for standing under the shade of an oak tree off behind all the seats in front of the pavilion the graduationg was to take place under, just off to the right. He watched everyone scramble for their proper places forlornly. Ever since he had begun his first day of kindergarten, he had dreamed of this day: to graduate among all his friends and their families, his parents sitting in the front row with perhaps a younger sister or brother with them as he gave his speech. Of course, he had been the valedictorian at his school, but his speech was to dozens of people he hardley or did not know.

His reminisceings were cut short as the principal of Retroville High School stepped up to the microphone and announced the start of the ceremony. The speakers began scratchily emiting the graduation march as the students were called forward, four at a time. Jimmy smiled as each of his friends entered; he also sacrificed the muscle use for a frown as Nick Dean was called, still looking and acting the part of the cool, suave guy. _Idiot,_ Jimmy thought, wasting even more energy than was worth it on the absolute _moron. . ._

When each of them had taken their seats, the principal stepped up to the microphone and announced in a bland, wearisome voice, "We now recognize our valedictorian of the year: Miss Cynthia Vortex!"

Cindy stood and walked to the microphone with an odd smile as the audience clapped and cheered. The smile faltered slightly as someone whistled at her. _Nick,_ Jimmy thought to himself._ That's odd… _but he clapped and cheered along with the rest, a large smile plastered on his face. However, the look on Cindy's face irked some small point in the back of his mind. What was wrong? He tried to shrug it off as she began talking.

"Thank you," she said softly into the microphone. She sounded and looked so much older; so much more mature.

She stared off to her right for some time, her smile completely gone by now. Jimmy's smile was also dwindling. Something was _definatly_ wrong. _She looks almost sick,_ he thought . Cindy continued.

"I won't say much to you today, as I don't rightfully think I deserve this position." Several students in the audience laughed. Cindy gavethe fleeting ghost of agrim smile that did not last long.

"I could tell you I am here because my parents pushed me forward. I could tell you I have the highest standing grade because I had amazing teachers that helped me to 'be all that I could be'. I could even say I am here because I had a role model that motivated me in such a way I felt it was inadequate to give anything but my best. However, I won't, because I don't think highly of lies."

All the students were silent, many of them, including many teachers, were staring at her with a mixture of suprise and curiosity. Cindy didn't seem to take notice and continued to stare at a spot somwhere to Jimmy's left, her right.

"I also won't try to say anything to 'motivate you' to 'be all that you can be'. That's not my place. If you havn't already motivated yourselves, how in the world do you expect_ me_ to do it?"

The tension was thick enough to feel in the air. She sounded so melancholy it tore at Jimmy. He raised his shoulder off the tree and leaned forward in growing anxiety, that small spot in the back of his mind sending off little warnings again. Cindy stared at each of the students in turn before going on, each word drawn out like honey being blown through a straw.

"I found something within my world that drove me on. It was not anybody telling me how to live my life, or what my standards were, or what I should strive for…at least, not out loud. They were my solace, my support, what dorve me on…and they didn't even realize it. I wish now that I could express how greatly I am thankful for that bit of my life, but it would be impossible. It lead me to a greater and stronger life than I could ever hope for – one beyond words.

"No, Iwon't say to listen to the voices telling you what to live up to. Instead, find your own inner drive. Tell _yourself _how you should live your own life. Find your own solace, and let it take you…well, whever it may go. There are no paths, save for the ones we create in our journeys. It's up to you where to go. You simply have to go."

Cindy bowed her head, her face almost dissapearing behind her curtain of hair, with another small "Thank you" and backed into her seat. There was awed silence for a lingering moment before the crowd burst into cheers and applause. Cindy gave a weak smile, but no other recognition to the hoots and hollers she was receiving.

Jimmy waspaying rapt attenition toCindy with his mouth hanging open slightly.He shook his head. _Good Lord…she's good._ Had he not been in his own state of a trance as he walked out of the courtyard, he would have seen the lone tear running down Cindy's cheek and known exactly what was wrong.

* * *

A/N: Another post, another headache. Perhaps it was just the whole load of wonderful reveiws that got me going. You really love me! 

**fearthewind: **I had no idea you liked Jimmy Neutron. Cool! . . .or are you just sucking up to me with a review to get me going on LooL:glares suspiciously:  
**fanjimmy:** Why, thank you. You know, you are a person of very little words. In every fic I read, you have reveiwed with one or two words, not much, but in _every single fic._ I feel some sense of pride in the fact that you reviewed mine.  
**Bubba343:** Thanks so muchs! That's so nice of you to say.  
**Manuel's Beanie: **Hola, y un cumpleaños muy feliz, tardío a usted. Thanks for the review. As soon as I read it and fixed the ending of the first chapter, (going back and reading it, I realized it _was_ rather confusing. So sorry.) I continued, just for you. Enjoy.  
**Racheal West:** Thanks for reviewing. And I'm so glad you appreciate the oddities of Sheen. I really don't think the show would be the same without him.  
**11111:** I'm so glad!  
**cherry2hil:** I'm so glad you read it, then. Hope you like this chapter!  
**Neutron Phantom:** Thankee kindly! Glad you like it so far.  
**EL CHUPACABRA: **:holds up restraining order: Sorry! It's here, it's here! I've always enjoyed your work, so I was really thrilled that you reveiwed mine and liked it so much. Hope you didn't mind this chapter being from Jimmy's POV. When I thought about where I wanted to go with this, I realized I would need to do it from more than Cindy's – but I'm rambling, and you will see eventually.  
**Angela Jewell:** Omigsh, I feel the same way! I decided I need to write this just because of that. Cindy's no push-over! Hope you liked this chapter. You could always tell me in review….:wink wink:  
**Halfa-Goddess:** Aww! That's so nice of you! Hope you liked this chapter.  
**ChoFrog09:** Sorry if you found it too unobvious. I just hate it when stories give EVERYTHING away in the first few paragraphs, so I steered away from that.  
**pokey: **Thanks so much! I really tried. I'm not all that thrilled with Sheen yet, but he's much better now than he was the first draft.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** What's it to you if I _don't_ own it, eh?

A/N: Read and Review. That's all I have to say to you people other than read and review my_ other_ stories. This is going to be a shorter chapter than the others because, well, writers block didn't allow me anything else. Just be grateful you got this out of me.

* * *

Cindy put on a fake smile as she nodded and shook hands with the people congratulating her on her spectacular performance. She inhaled the first avaliable oxygen gratfully as they cleared away. Sheen, Libby, and Carl walked up to her quickly to acoid more wasrming crowds. 

"Hey girl," Libby said, grinning toothily at her. "Ready to go?" Cindy nodded as Sheen said, "Hey, what about – oof!" Libby had given him a swift elbow in the gut before standing on tip-toes and hissing something in his ear. Cindy narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What's going on that I'm not being told?" she snapped, folding her arms across her chest. She knew that mask of innocence Libby had on too well and she didn't like it one bit. Libby, however, was not in a cooperative mood and only pulled her away by her elbow, throwing her graduation cap in the air and shouting happily, "Come on! We're FREE!"

Despite the surly mood she had been worked into so instantaniously, Cindy couldn't help but smile. How true and sweet that statement was. She would finally be able to throw away this life and start from scratch. She watched Libby and Sheen as they launched themselves into the back seat the convertible Cindy had gotten as a "graduation gift" and sat within comfortable hugging length, and then at Carl, who was struggling fruitlessly to copy their motions but finally resolved to opening the passenger door and sliding into his seat, sighing irritatedly. Cindy smiled again blissfully. So maybe not from scratch…

* * *

The Candy Bar was packed. Sheen, in a burst of uncharacteristic ingenuity, had reserved their favorite table with Sam - the one right next to the juke-box. The fat owner scowledup at them as they came in. 

"Hurry up! Eat and get out, yeah! I've got enough of your friends to deal with!"

Cindy smiled and hugged him fondly before sitting down. "Thank you, Sam, you big fake!" Sam blushed and hurried off to make their orders, still grumbling. Cindy turned to her friends in time to see Libby give Carl, who had been watching the crowds, a look. She narrowed her eyes at the pair of them, but so far it was goon naturedly.

"All right," she said loudly. "What are you hiding? I want to know!" Sheen scrambled over the back of their booth and over to the juke-box. He selected a song as Libby said to Cindy, "No, you don't. Just trust me on this, girl."

The crowd around them cheered and started dancing when a song by 'Outta Sync' began blaring from the juke-box. Cindy watched in facinated horrer as Sheen did his own reincarnation of The Twist.

"Hey Carl!" he said. "Remember that band we started with Jimmy?"

Carl gave his nasally little laugh. "Cha! We so totally rocked the universe of rock!"

Libby snorted as she lept up to join Sheen in his "dance". "I wouldn't go as far as that, but I have to admit that you guys were pretty good." Carl and Sheen began debating back and forth with Libby about their level of masterful talents when Mary, the girl that had given Carl the great honor of sitting with him at lunch a few weeks back, came over and asked him to dance. Cindy smiled, content to justsit theirand watch her friends laughing and dancing.As all thingsseemed to be in her life as of late, her mood was spoiled asNick started her way.

"Hey ang –" he began. Cindy had stood up, torn between going out to meet him or running as fast as she could in the opposite direction when her friends came to he rescue. They barred Nick's way, even Mary, who clung onto Carl's arm as he bravley stood by a furious looking Sheen and Libby.

"Anything we can do for you, Nick?" Libby spat, taking a step towards him. Nick in turn took his own step back, looking hesitant at the onslaught that faced him. He apparently thought the chance of messing up his hair was to great, for he muttered "No", turned, and walked away. Cindy let out a breath and stepped forward, throwing and arm each about Sheen and Carl.

"Thanks guys," she said. Sheen ruffled her hair fondly, a habit he had gotten into ever since his height had surpassed hers four years ago.

"It's only what Ultra Lord would do, Cindy," he said, as though it were a logical, well-known fact. Cindy scowledunsuccessfully and shoved him away from her. Libby laughed and caught him, swinging him into a dance again. Carl and Mary walked back to the table with Cindy as Sam arrived with their orders. Cindy picked at hers half-heartedly as she stared off into space, her peripheral vision catching Carl feeding Mary a french frie lovingly. When Sheen and Libby rejoined them, the two had long since been lip-locked. Sheen graciously helped Libby step over them to get to their seats.

"What you been thinking 'bout, girl?" Libby asked Cindy as she dug into her sundae vigorously. Cindy sighed.

"Nothing really, I guess," she said, swiping a cherry from her friend's dish. "Just wondering what college is going to be like."

"You got you acception letter, right?" Libby asked. Cindy nodded happily.

"Princeton! Not quite the Harvard my _mother_ was hoping for, but since when do I think about her opinions." Cindy did not hear Libby's sigh as she had gone off into another silent and moody sulk. That…_woman_ had not right to be called her mother. Ever since her father had walked out on them three days before Cindy's 12th birthday, she had become even more untolerable than before. Her picky, unreachable expectations had become daily beratings and break-downs to give nothing less than perfection. After a few months of degrading Cindy's image and self-worth, she gave it up entirly and played the part of I-could-care-less-if-you-were-to-throw-yourself-into-the-lake type of not-mother. Cindy had grown to accept this and stayed at Libby's house the majority of the time; most of her posessions that Mrs. Vortex hadn't pawned or broken in a rage were at the Folfax household.

Life had certainly been far different from what she had envisioned growing up. No perfect little house with the neatly painted trim, no happy parents showering her with praise for her excelent academic acomplishments, no genius across the street to fight with over absolutly nothing…

Cindy stood and said to Libby, "I'll see you at the party tonight." Libby nodded and didn't ask any questions, much to the releif of Cindy. She worked her way through the dancing, talking, laughing mob towards the door, exchanging quick hellos and good byes with the many people that addressed her before running to the Folfax residence.

After a quick change of clothing and another hello to Libby's mother, Cindy walked briskly down the street towards the park, speeding up as she went until she was in a full run. She collapsed into one of the vacant swings, physically and emotionally drained. She felt much like one did after crying, but rampageous anger had replaced any tears.

_That stupid woman! _she thought to herself, her own mother's face coming back to mind. _Why can't she just leave me alone? _She scowled at the sand by her feet and kicked at it, watching the journey of a small pebble that had been in it. It landed in the grass some feet away from her, and something beyond that caught her eye and pressed a groan out of her that turned into a small scream of absolute fury.

_Why can't _anybody _leave me alone, for that matter! _Her escape opportunity arose when Nick, as he was cockily flipping his hair as he walked across the park towards her, stumbled on a large protruding root and into a group of boys playing marbles on the concrete sidewalk. Between the marbles and the small, angry hands shoving him in the back of the knees, Nick fell into another small group of children and twisted his feet into their jump rope. While he was laying on the ground and attempting to untangle himself, Cindy bolted from the swing and towards the trees from where she watched Nick being thoroughly chastened by the mothers of the now wailing girls whose jump rope he annihilated.

Cindy allowed herself a secret giggle as she practically skipped off. Despite her worried sentiments about college, there were many problems she was all too happy to leave behind, a.k.a. Nick and "mother dearest". But with the good comes the bad. Cindy had promised countless times to an upset Libby that she would e-mail her every day possible, she could always call her, and she would absolutly see her during any break time she could afford. And Cindy Vortex was one to keep her word.

She stopped walking and turned around to glance at her surroundings casually. She had an odd feeling that she was being watched, but nothing around her was moving other than a few chattering squirrels in a tree some feet away. Cindy strained her ears.

Nothing else was there, but, unable to shake the feeling, she walked off nonchalant, whistling the tune to –

She stopped dead in her tracks again. Since when did she know how to whistle?

* * *

A/N: …..ummmm…let's seeee…excuses: well, school's been pretty rough. I swear, Harper Lee needs to be crucified for writing such a stupid book. Urg! And whoever came up with geometric and trigonomic proofs was clearly disregarding the writers' world! Disdainful, that's what it is. Anyways, review! 

**sandy:** Thanks so much! Misspelled words are usually quite the pricker to me too, but my spellcheck won't work, so I've been going through it by hand. Sorry if I missed any. Hope you liked this chapter!  
**kilala63: **All in good time, my anxious reader! In good time…  
**snowboarder9:** Thanks!  
**Angela Jewell:** aw! I'm tearing up already! Thank you sooo much! Hope you liked this installment.  
**k: **:O gah! Sh! This is still the cryptic area!  
**scooter5710: **Thanks so much!  
**storyoholic:** Thanks! It means a lot to me!  
**The CheezHead:** haha you poet you! Thanks for the reveiw!  
**kingdom219:** Hope you liked this chapter!  
**fearthewind: **haha well, you just never know with your types!  
**fanjimmy:** Thanks bunches! You're support is much needed.  
**missgiggles12087:** Thanks!  
**ReddistheRose:** lol thanks for reading and even more for reveiwing!  
**The Halfa Wannabe:** Thank you muchas!  
**They-Call-Me-Orange:** You so totally win the award for making my day and using the word "uber" all in one go! Hope you liked this chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **That's right, losers: Jimmy Neutron is MINE! I'm wasting my precious time writing this stupid fanfic instead of making the big bucks by creating a new season of the show! Haha, I fooled you!

A/N: Although the chances of her reading this are highly improable, I would like to extend an apology to the girl that sits next to me in my block class, where I write the majority of my fanfiction updates. I have this odd case of A.D.D. that doesn't allow me to focus on a single item unless there are several things going on at once; in this instance, it is listening to loud music and writing at the same time…music loud enough that my neighbor can hear it very, _very_ well through my headphones. But on to the story!

* * *

_College,_ Cindy thought to herself huffily, frowning nastily at the building in front of her. _Hardly through half my day and I'm already sick of it._

Nothing at all as she had invisioned it to be, she spent her luch in a good sulk stationed under a tree, facing the dreaded building. Of course, Cindy had spent the greater part of her pre-teen life living in dissapointment and dispair until she had made a choice to change it; Princeton was not an easy thing to change, but living around it was possible. No reason to call it quits now.

The bell rang, signaling the continuation of Cindy's walking nightmare. She gathered her things and slung them in a bag over her shoulder, trudging off to her chemistry class. A boy, perhaps a few years older than her, came rushing around the corner she was approaching. His friend came peeling after him and, not able to swerve quickly enough, bumped into Cindy's right shoulder roughly, almost knocking her off balance.

"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, steadying her by her shoulders. He gaped at her for the split second pausethat Cindy allowed before, in a release of pent-up rage for the stupid school she had been crammed into, shouldered him off as roughly as she had been hit and snapped, "Oh, I'm sure!" She flounced away, leaving the boy very confused and with his mouth hanging open.

The final bell rang as Cindy was sliding into a seat four rows back and some distance to the right of the large teachers desk that sat in the front of the classroom, a wide chalkboard just beyond it. The professor was nowhere to be seen, though. No surprise to Cindy, she took her copy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice from her bag and picked up where the ever-tyranic bell had forced her to leave off. She became so absorbed in it, she did not notice anyone around her chatting and laughing until the door opened once more and, acompanied by a pair of feet walking quickly towards the desk, a horrifyingly familiar voice called out, "I'm terribly sorry I'm late. I had an engagment that I couldn't escape from."

Cindy's eyes widened. She dared not look up from the page. She shut her eyes tight as the noise being emitted from the classmates around her, having been cut off at the arrival of the professor, started up again as a confused muttering amongst themselves. She willed it to be anything but so. Her silent pleas were not heard, however, and she looked up reluctantly – terrified – at the owner of the voice that continued.

There he was, dropping his things on his desk. Still looking as cocky as ever.

Nothing she could imagine could deny what the facts gave her.

"I am your chemistry professor, James Neutron, and I will be until I fail you or you drop out." Hisstatement dilivered cooly, he jumped up on the desk and sat next to his bag, calmly awaiting the slew of questions that were inevitably to follow. At this invitation, the class, (sans Cindy, who was still sitting in a horrified trance,) commenced after a moment of stunned silence. An extremely tall young man in the back row was the first to immerge from the could of stupor and confusion that seemed to hang rankly over them.

"Neutron…" he said slowly. Jimmy swung his legs slowly and adopted a look of silent encouragment as the young giant attempted to process his thoughts. The giant finally said, "Are you the same kid who was selling his inventions to NASA?"

Although still thoroughly shocked, Cindy was irritated by the stupid comment. Jimmy was the one to voice her exacts thoughts, though: "No, that was the _other_ 14-year-old genius."

More questions flew out through the laughter that ensued.

"How long have you been teaching?"

Jimmy pulled his legs up Indian style on the desk as he answered, "This will be my third year. It was a little weird needing a ride my first few months or so because I didn't have my licence yet."

_The idiot deserves it, _Cindy thought savagly, not feeling the same humor her classmates did as they laughed again. (Thawing from her hebetude, her hostile feelings were returning.)

"When did you go to high school?" someone else called out.

Jimmy frowned slightly. "In my hometown, when I was twelve. Thanks to a packed schedual and internet courses, I finished and graduated with all my credits in one year. My family and I moved out here after that when I was given a full scholarship to Harvard. I was fully graduated with a Ph.D in physics, chemistry, and a teacher's licence the summer I turned 16. Princeton offered me a position and, after I stepped back and realized my young childhood was gone, I accepted."

"All I really want to know," a girl sitting next to Cindy confided in her, "is his social status."

Cindy snorted dubiously. _Nerd-tron dating?_ she thought to herself. Just the thought was laughable. She looked up again, trying to see what her neighbor saw.

It was Neutron; older, of course, of which brought startling changes. He had abandoned the soft-serve hairstyle that Cindy had found joy in teasing him over for a shorter cut that had been allowed to run free, giving him the odd, wind-swept appearance of one who had just ridden a motercycle …or hover-car. His height, having sprouted up several feet, might have rivled that of Sheen's. He looked so…proportional. No longer the big-headed idiot that lived across the street; instead, the regular-looking-headed moron that Cindy was expected to call her college professor. _Unthinkable._

Something was different though. After a moment or two, Cindynoticed his eyes.Their bright bluecolor had lost luster andwere filled with a soberness on the confines of on bordom,not the fire she had always known from either the exhibition of a new invention, the latest fight with Cindy, or just from the swirling thoughts that wereendlessly running wild.

But what did she care? Nothing at all, that's what. Immersing herself once more in the writing's of Jane Austen, Cindy did her best to block out the voices around her that continued to glom over their professor, asking ridiculous questions that in no way would help them better their grades. After reading four pages and absorbing nothing, Cindy put the book aside in time to see Jimmy pull out a roster and begin to check names to the faces. She felt her stomach sink lower and lower with each name closer he came to her own. As though willing herself to simk through the floor, she slid down in her seat with her stomach.

"Sanders, Elizabeth?"

"Right here," Cindy's neighbor crooned as she flipped her hair over her shoulder, sickening Cindy even further.

"Tanner, Sam."

"Here." The giant raised an arm lazily. Jimmy glanced up and nodded in recognition. He looked down at his list again and searched for the next name as Cindy's heart tattooed an imprint she was certain people could see from the outside on her chest.

In the eternity it took for Jimmy's eyes to fall upon her name, Cindy had fully decided upon atheism when God didn't grant her pity and collapse the roof upon him. Her breath caught in her throat as he drew one and started, "Vor –" His brilliant eyes widened and time was thrust into a neck-break speed. _"Cindy?" _He jerked his head up, eyes rapidly flying across the faces in the room. He did a double take and locked gazes with her, his blue orbs widening even further with shock. Cindy, still scooched down low in her seat, unnecessarily raised her hand.

After a seeming eternity and several stutters, Jimmyproptly looked down and clamped his openly hanging mouth shut, stammering as he unsuccessfully groped for the next name. "Uh, Sa – no. Tann – uh, Williams, Gregory!"

Had Cindy exhaled any sharper or louder through her nostrils, it could have been classified as a snort. She picked up her book again. Her heart rate having subsided, she thoroughly enjoyed it after she berated herself for getting so worked up over something so stupid, tuning out Jimmy as he stumbled through the rest of the list and the answers to the continuing questions, completely missing the looks he repetedly threw her way until the final bell rang.

* * *

Cindy walked into the three-bedroom apartment just off campus that she shared with two other people and, after dropping her things on the table to the left of the door, looked up and was met by a very unpleasant sight: Elizabeth Sanders, the professor-dating hussy, was sitting on the couch in the small living room next to Cindy's roommate Emily. After gaping at the pair for a few seconds, she said, "I'm so sorry. I must have left my remainder of hope for life in chemistry…" 

As she turned to open the door again, Emily came up to her saying, "Oh, no no no! Cindy, this is Lizzie, my cousin. Her friends bailed on her and she needs a place to stay. She'll be sharing my room and the rent."

Cindy was forcably turned to face Lizzie. If they really were cousin's, Cindy could see no similarities. Emily, lean, straight, and with a hippie-like personality, had a long, olive-skinned face, dark brown eyes and hair, straight and sweeping to her mid-back, while full and curvey Lizzie, with her bouncing blonde waves, light blue irises, and ivory complexion could have easily passed as a Maybelline model. (Cindy was certain she had bought less collective make-up her whole life than Lizzie was wearing at the moment and the only reason she would have wanted one of Emily's dozen or so recipies for homemade granola would be for a light super-model's lunch.) Lizzie grined upon recognizing Cindy and extened a slender hand, saying, "Oh, yes, I remember you. Professor Neutron's chemistry class, right?"

Cindy did not take the hand at first, but with a look from Emily and realization on her own part that she might have been being the slightest – and just the _slightest_ – bit prejudice, took it half-heartedly and allowed hers to be shaken. By the odd look the model was pinning her with and the open-ended feeling her question had possesed, Cindy knew Lizzie was expecting an explanation for Jimmy's strange behavior in class. Not at all about to give her such satisfaction, Cindy excused herself with a nod. After retriving her things from the dining table, taking her 6-pack of Purple Flurp from the kitchenette that was on the oppostie side of the door, and squeezing back through the cramped living room, she entered the middle bedroom door that decorated the far wall.

She slammed her door behind her before pounding on her left wall, informing Miles – her other roommate – that his music was at an offensive volume. Instead of being lowered, it was shut of completely, and a second later the twiggy sophomore popped his curly head through her door.

"So," he said, perching himself with great difficulty on Cindy's desk chair as she flopped onto the bed that took up a great remainder of the space in her room, "how was your first day?"

Cindy seriously contemplated this as she watched her ceiling fan make several rotations. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said finally.

"Oh, come on, it couldn't have been that bad," Miles consoled.

"Not 'bad', per say," Cindy commented, sitting up and crossing her legs beneath her. "Just…extremely weird."

"I know what you mean," Miles responded, green eyes filled with sympathy. "Don't worry. Other people do, too."

Cindy doubted other peoples' childhood friend/enemy's became their college professor, but she knew it wouldn't be worth the effort to explain, so she changed the subject. "What's Lizzie like? She doesn't look the least bit like you or Emily…"

"Difference of parents can do that, you know," he said. Cindy gave him an admonishinglook, and he laughed. "Sorry. She looks more like her mother than our uncle…and she knows it." He paused to wrinkle his nose at the door. "Emily's either crazy oran angel to let her stay. I'll let her, but I'm not about to 'enjoy her company and take advantage of such an opportunity', as my saintly sister keeps insisting I try to do. I'm only allowing it because it eases up on our rent shares."

Cindy smiled, but she felt it turned out to be more of a grimace. "I got that impression; chemistry is going to be Hell with her."

Miles's eyes widened in mock horror. "May God help you!" She laughed with him as he left and retired to his own closet again, his music returning at the same ear-splitting level. Cindy threw an unnecessary shoe at the wall separating them as he graced her and lowered it to a light roar. Almost forgetting her sworn atheism until Miles's last comment, Cindy lay back and looked up at her ceiling again, thinking about the bizarre day.

There was no way she would suffer through chemistry with Jimmy. She would just have to go to the officials and tell them there was some sort of religious defiment to him being her teacher or something and get her classes switched. _Killing two birds with one stone,_ she though, grimacing again as Lizzie's shrill laugh trilled over the British rock blasting from the stereo next door.

But then she thought, _Why should I move for other people? _And why should she? Was she really going to change aparments over Lizzie? She could stick it out. And switching her _entire schedual_ just for _Neutron _was ridiculous! She was stronger than that. She had lived across the street from him for nearly her whole childhood; what difference did this make? Absolutley none.

Resolved, Cindy rolled over and pulled up her backpack and a Purple Flurp. Nothing like a good load of homwork and solid dose of liquified sugar to calm the nerves…

* * *

A/N: I know I must always say this, but I really ment to have this up sooner. However, my mouse was invaded by Casper's evil twin and went on a loopey spin, not allowing me to work or even log onto my user-name. Of course, instead of using the opportunity to practice the tutti in Mozart Konzertante, (of which I still have no idea how to get through,) or my Dvorák, I sat around and sulked. (I still did adequately at my concert, for those who were wondering.) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks again to my fab reveiwers! 

**They-Call-Me-Orange: **Thank you so much!  
**Jackie:** :cowers in fear: It's here! It's here!  
**The ChezHead: **Thanks again, you fabulous poet you! Hope you enjoyed this chap!  
**snowboarder9: **Thanks again!  
**fanjimmy: **Thank you bunches!  
**Self Proclaimed KoC:** I'm glad you think so. I was really going for a different pace. Hope you liked this chapter!  
**The Halfa Wannabe:** I'm so glad you caught that! I didn't know who would, but I felt like putting that in there. Know why? Because I can. Keep up the reviews and I'll keep up the updates!  
**Angela Jewell:** Thanks again for your support! I'm glad you liked it.  
**fearthewind: **Hihi! Keep reviewing, and thnx!  
**k: **If you keep reviewing, you'll find out soon!  
**Arein: **So many questions! Of course, I know you will enjoy reading the answeres in story form rather than me simply telling you, so keep reviewing and I'll let you know!  
**Barlee:** I think you said everything I love and look for in a story in that review. It's so good to know someone out there feels the same way! (Btw, I also loved "New Technology". Great story.) It's okay to be a lurker other places, (Idoitsometimesshh!) just not in my story! Keep up your awesome reviews!  
**kingdom219:** Thanks! I will!  
**Elynsynos 18:** You are unbelievably kind….however, I don't mind! Thank you, and keep reviewing!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Who needs a television show when you get reveiws like I do!

A/N: It's finally working again! woot! I would have had this up a few days ago, but the darn site wouldn't let me log in - again. Anyways, enjoy.

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Jimmy had been left in the chemistry lab in a much less put-together state than Cindy. The most his numbed senses would allow him to do was gape stupidly at the emptied room, keep his eyes stapled into a permanently wide-open position, and make his stomach squirm in a very peculiar manner. It was several minutes after Cindy had flounced out – wearing pants the proper length, he had noted – before he was able to set some of the thoughts floundering in his mind into legible feelings. 

There was no way this done-up cover-girl was Cindy. Not _his_ Cindy! His Cindy, who had all those years tormented him endlessly; his Cindy who flushed his notebook down a toilet in the third grade; his Cindy who lived to pick a fight with him, using every waking and relentless breath to turn his childhood upside down.

He pressed his fists against his temples. What in the name of Isaac Newton was wrong with him? He had seen her a mere few months ago; what was the reason to get so worked up now?

_She wasn't this close last time_…a little spot in his mind hissed. 

_So what? _he snappped back, only mildly concerned about the sanity lapse he must have been in to create an argument with himself. _That only gives her an easier opportunity to put lanthanum in my sulfer compound again._

It was something bigger than elementary school lab mishaps, though. Something different. He was smart enough to know she must have caught the looks hehad perpetuallyshot her, searching for the source of her…well, _sobered_ behavior. It was when he flashed back to several months ago he remembered the lifeless eyes she had had. Seeing her again and mulling it over in his stupified but still workable thoughts brought Jimmy to a sudden and abhorrent realization: she was_ bored_.

She hardley looked it upon first glance, and he would have never have been able to see as deep down into her eyes those few months ago as he had today. He was loath to admit it, but she was _gorgeous_. A real ravishing beauty, so grown and mature, so it made him wonder even more how she could seem so unaware and dead; she hardly even flinched when he had called out her name. She had squeezed in as much sarcasm as was possible into that short look they had exchanged, though, contradicting her apearance and letting the smallest sliver of the defiant Cindy he knew shine through. Jimmy wondered what had happened while he had been gone. She had really changed.

"Afternoon, Professor!" Cody sang from the doorway, grinning idioticly. "Didn't see you at lunch; what kept you?"

Jimmy watched him skip over to the side of his desk distractedly. "Hmm? Oh yeah. Sorry about that. It took longer to get back from the moon than I thought origionally."

Cody picked up a piece of chalk from the metal holding tray beneath it and began decorating the notes on the board behind Jimmy with little smiling faces and flowers as he asked, "And what all-important business did the moon require of the campus genious?"

Too distracted to be peturbed by his friend's odd mood, Jimmy answered, "Updating my little brother." Cody looked even more confused when Jimmy finished, "His hardware was out-dated and wasn't allowing him to function properly."

Cody tossed the chalk from hand to hand. "My mom just sent my younger siblings to day-care, but I'm sure the moon works well, too…" He mis-aimed the piece of chalk – perhaps not entirely by accident – and it struck Jimmy in the middle of the forehead. The young professor jerked out of his state and rubbed away the smear of yellow residue that had been transferred.

"He's not human, brainiac," he retorted, chucking the offensive item back with a conciderable amount more use of force than it had been received with.

"You too, huh?" Cody said, leaning to avoid the biffing. He was being relentlessly smart-mouthed, a sure sign he was in a good moodor was avoiding some recentlycommited felony."I've been trying to tell that to my mom for years, but she insists that aliens didn't drop them off at our door."

"I've met several aliens and I can assur you: that would be the last thing on their agenda" Jimmy said absently. "My brother's a robot. I built him when I was eleven because I wanted a younger sibling."

Cody looked horrifeid. "_Why?_" he whispered.

"I told you I wanted a – "

"Yes, I heard. _Why!_"

"I already learned that lesson," Jimmy assured his friend, hoping he wouldn't go into an over-dramatic frenzy – again. "Why do you think he's in a different orbit?"

"Excelent point…though it might not have been far enough," Cody remarked thoughtfully.

"I concur," Jimmy snorted. "Now, what's gotten you into such a good mood?"

A dreamy expression over-took Cody's features and it was several moments before he was able to say, "It has been revealed to me that this school is not mearly filled with people carrying so many books that worms are inevitable."

"Of course not," Jimmy agreed. "They let _you_ in, right?"

"Ha ha," Cody said hollowly. His dreamy expression returned almost immeadiatly. "I have met a goddess."

Jimmy snorted. He had heard this line from Cody with several other girls he had dated, so he did not take it all that seriously. He voiced this thought.

"You simple-minded fool," Cody glared. "This angel is not to be compared to any other human on this planet. She is more radiant than the sun itself, her soul more pure than snow, her spirit more powerful than the explosion you caused last semester with that sulfer compound – "

"Aside from the terrible analogy, that wasn't _all_ my fault!"

" – no words can fully describe her – "

"You seem to have covered the basics. Anything you missed?"

Cody chaînéed over to a student's desk, flopping down into it with a long, drawn-out sigh. "Such an amazing, beautiful, blonde – "

"Run," Jimmy advised, cutting in sharply. Cody looked interested.

"You don't seem to be the type to go after girls, let alone blonde bombshells," he said. "You know any?"

Jimmy stood and riffled through the papers he had taken from his bag. "Oh, yes. And she's not just the shell, but the whole bomb. I think the only person who was idiotic enough to pick a fist-fight with her was the school bully, and he was out for a week with a black eye. Got four stitches, too."

Cody whistled. "Did you know her well?"

"Oh, _very _well," Jimmy said, almost laughing out loud. "She lived across the street from me and made sure I knew it daily. Her best friend was practically going out with Sheen – I've told you about him and Carl, right? Anyways, she and her friend would tag along on these adventures we always ran off into. In fact, I learned when I was time-traveling with Sheen and Carl that I would end up marrying her, but that was only because we had gotten her friend's birthday present mixed up with an experiment of mine that would have turned her into a dictator. We cleared that up, so it's irrelevant, actually…at least, I hope it is…" Jimmy suddenly realized Cody was looking at him very strangely. "…sooo, I don't even know why I'm telling you this, you can forget it all, don't you have a class?"

Jimmy sayinghis final run-on sentence very quickly did not wipe Cody's short-term memory bank in spite of strong wishing, so his friend continued to veiw him as though another head had popped up on his left shoulder, or as though he had been excecuting very complicated gymnastic moves as he had been speaking, or, even, as though he had just blurted out a very paranormal and personal event that one does not usually come in contact with on a daily basis (if one has not known Jimmy Neutron for more than a year, of course.) Cody stood and shook his head. "You must have had one freaky childhood, dude."

Jimmy had nothing to say to this; he sank into his chair with a sharp exhale and a nod.

"Aside from the fact that you were time travling and all that, I mean…" Cody clarified.

"Yes, I got that," Jimmy snapped. "Is there anything else I can do for you before I degrade myself further?"

"As much fun as that would be to see," Cody contemplated, "I don't think I hold the metal capasity to absorb it all. I'm done with classes for the day and wondered if you wanted to head out somewhere."

"You know what?" Jimmy said, standing and throwing his bag over his shoulder. "That's _just_ what I need right now: some good, mindless, college-student stress relievents. I could really go for some _fun..._"

And that's just what he did, Cody stumbling along behind in attempt to keep up with his rampage. They first crashed at his apartment, raping it of all possible entertainment sources before calling up several more friends and acquaintances to join them in a club-hopping mob. For the first time in his young life, Jimmy entirely let himself go and went wild with pent-up hormones and deeply-burried desires. This was a great spectacle to everyone who knew him that was there to witness it. When he finally took a breather and watched his friends from their booth dancing and laughing, he was shocked at a sudden, horrific thought: he was out at ten o'clock _on a school night._ He expressed his horrification to Cody, who laughed uproariously after a moment of silence in which he executed whether Jimmy was actually being serious or not.

"Jimmy, you have _got_ to get out more," Cody said through tears and more sniggers. Jimmy didn't seem to see what was so funny. Cody's mood sobered instantly and he shoved his friend back out on the dance floor, telling him repeatedly it was alright, he wouldn't die, life was supposed to be like this, just forget everything else for now. Go on. Forget. Forget it all.

He did.

He forgot all about responsibility.

He forgot all about the lessons he would have to teach the next morning through a hang-over.

He forgot all about the day he had had.

He forgot all about Cindy.

Cindy.

Cindy and her life-less eyes.

Cindy and her properly-fitted pant legs.

Pretty, vivacious Cindy, who made sure to glare at him when she walked by his desk on the way out of the class.

His class.

The class he would have to teach tomorrow.

Tomorrow…

He would see her again tomorrow.

Forget…

Feeling quite intoxicated, Jimmy went back to the booth, where two of Cody's classmates – people Jimmy had only met a few times previous to that evening – were bonded together at the lips. They somehow notice him approach though and made room for him without even breaking their seal. Sitting down made him feel even more light-headed than before however, and he at once stood.

He habituallyran a hand through his sweaty hair, setting it on even more of an end than it had been before. He searched for Cody in the crowd, but all their collective and simultaneous bobbing and swaying made him feel rather nauseous. He tried to work his way around the edges of the mass, but his legs did not seem to be functioning properly. He felt like he was moving through a pool of jello. It seemed like an hour before he was able to reach the door. He fell upon its saftey bar gratefully and pushed it open with the little remaining strength he possed.

The cool night air blasted him as full on as running into a wall would have. It could not clear his fogged mind, though. Nothing could. Life was too confusing to be cleared with simple oxygen.

Life.

Life-less eyes.

Cindy's eyes, green and life-less.

Even as drunk as he was – both by alchohol and his swirling thoughts – he was able to call Goddard on his communicator watch and send for his car. He was very glad he had installed auto-pilot into its main systems. He would have never been able to drive home in the state he was in. He had completely forgotten the way.

Completely forgotten.

Forgotten Cindy…

* * *

A/N: I spent 3 days up in the mountains with a friend of mine and all her crazy relatives for the first weekend of my summer vacation. We came home early because it wouldn't stop raining and hailing; all our clothes were either wet or scorched from attempting to dry them over the fire. (That latter bit was nothing I took part of, though, I can proudly say.) I can tell you this much: I have never been more appreciative of my computer than when I came back the other day. I've been camping many times before, but this was some other crud. I love you all, my reveiwers! The thought of you is what got me by! 

**jackie: **As persistant as ever. Hope you liked!  
**Phantomhobbit: **I didn't know you had been following. Know that I do, I'm glad! Hope you enjoyed!  
**The CheezHead: **Haha glad you enjoyed it. And don't worry: Miles is totally, completely, and absolutely flippin' hott. I'm really glad I was able to portray him that way without taking up a page of description! Happiness! The adventures are yet to come…  
**Hermione Granger63: **Hope you were able to make it through! It wasn't much, but the good stuff's coming real soon.  
**The Legendary Frob: **Yes it will, won't it? Thanks so much for reading and hope you enjoyed!  
**Elynsynos 18: **You are too nice! Thanks bunched and hope you are still there enjoying! More to come…eventually, but good stuff is on it's way!  
**Arein:** They say curiosity kills, you know. and I would be loath for you to die before you read the end of my story, because I'm sure you will like it! Thanks lots and hope you liked this chap!  
**fearthewind: **Hey hey! Love you even more when you review, so keep it up! Did you notice my ballet term there? All for you, babe!  
**Barlee:** Omigsh sweetie! You are like, my new favorite person! You, once again, pin-pointed EVERYTHING I was hoping to get across. You captured all of Jimmy's actions into exact descriptions straight from my mind. I didn't really mean to make Elizabeth sound slutty either, and I'm glad you picked up on that; you even managed to come up with a parallel that I had in mind! ESP! Sam _will_ play a part later on, but perhaps not that big. Background color, dialog, minor relationship with Cindy, (FRIENDS! She's all Jimmy's.) ect. And as I said before, Miles is DEFINITLY a heart-throb and all-around H-O-T-T. I've got major plans for him…muahaha! I'm so glad you appriciate my word choice and quality over quantity; I've worked at it a lot and it's dissapointing when it gets overlooked. You're reveiws will NEVER be a chore. If they are, I wish I could do them five times a day! And have no fear, this will most certainly be finished. 8 ) hearts!  
**numbuh 5:** Thank you thank you! Hope you liked this bit!  
**The Opal Fairy**: Welcome to the story and hang on tight! Hope you liked this chap!  
**fanjimmy: **Good to hear from you again, dude. Thanks for the comp, and stick around for the even better stuffs!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **La hada y la cabra comieron el gato con arroz. Procuré pararlos, pero la mesa me lamió. Después de ese, yo estola la cesta. Mi maestra de español es una idiota. Ella come los uñas del dedo del pie y hace compras con un cerdo. (Take THAT stinking education programs! I know you didn't teach me THAT! That's pure gringo talk right there, that is.)

A/N: WOOHOO! SCHOOL'S OUT! That gives me more opportunities to update, right? …HAHA, FOOLED YOU! I really don't know my away-from-home to infront-of-computer ratio as of now, so don't expect much. I'm just about as swamped as if I still had school. That's just the definition of "vacation", isn't it? Bleck.

* * *

Her over-reactment of the up-ending day she had had calmed by the liquified sugar and food coloring, Cindy spent the first afternoon of her new life doing, as expected, no strings attactched, all the glitz and glam included: homework. She was disturbed only two times after Miles's visit; the first, his sister Emily, bringing a peace offering of carrot sticks and her homemade ranch dressing. (Cindy resented the slight, involuntary nose wrinkle her roommate made at her choice of beverage, but that should have been expected, and she got over it quickly.) The second was made by Miss United Date-Digger's herself, asking ever-so-sweetly for help with poem she was ment to analyze in her English class. Knowing this was ment to be an ice-breaker, Cindy caved and allowed herself to be chatted with. Much to her surprise, once she set aside all stereotypes from their first meeting, she found herself actually _enjoying_ herself a few times, and she almost laughed once. 

That precursor for day two was enough to set Cindy in a positive mood that lasted up until lunch time. It was replenished when she met Lizzie, Emily, and Miles in the little coffee shop across the street from there apartment and just down the road from the school. They sat at one of the bar-height, spindly wrought-iron tables that littered the small courtyard and sidewalk in front of it. Her spirits were relifted as Miles re-encountered – hand motions, sound effects and all – the tumble his 80-year-old English Literature professor took over his desk and into the bookshelf behind it. (It would have been less funny if the professor were polite and had he not been in the middle of a prepared monolouge on the importance of constant attention.)

Chemistry was a subdued affair; or rather, the professor was. When Cindy entered the class, she almost didn't see Jimmy slumped in his chair and clutching an economy sized bottle of club soda in both hands. Despite the mid-day hour, his eyes were red-rimmed and he seemed to have difficulty focusing on anything. She couldn't help hissing, "Late night, Nerd-tron?" as she passed. He was too disoriented to come up with a response quick enough. Other than that moment, Cindy made no contact with Jimmy, visual, vocal, or physical. As she expected, chemistry was an awkward affair, but she gave it her all anyways.

The next two weeks snailed by at an almost unbearable pace. Her lazy afternoons consisted of stumbling through school work with Lizzie, eating, the occasional explosion from the kitchen as Emily (unsuccessfully) worked on her new recipe for homemade jam, plus the odd guitar lesson from Miles sprinkled in. Friday after classes were over, Lizzie's suggestion of a trip to the school library was taken up gratefully by everyone sans Emily, who was still busy trying to scrape the latest attempt at mango peach off the cabinets. Instead of the library, though, Cindy went to the gymnasium with Miles to fulfill a promise/threat to teach him tai chi.

"You really don't have to do this, you know," Miles complained in a weak attempt to dissued Cindy. She was covering a large portion of the laminate-wood floored gym in thick mats that would in no way protect the either of them if they were to take a spill. (The most they could do was add a few nasty mat burns.)

"Sissy baby," Cindy accused. She connected the final two pads together by fastening their over-used velcro straps in place. Standing and putting her hands on her hips, she surveyed her wary roommate and realized her description wasn't too far off.

Miles was decked out in a pair of over-sized basketball shorts that hung low on his thin, swimmer's frame, knobby sweat socks that would not stay up his narrow calves, and a stretched out, white crew-neck tee, all of which made him look even smaller than he really was. Adding on his messy mop of wide, dark curls, Cindy would have bet good money had he been plopped in the middle of a large crowd, it wouldn't be two minutes before people began inquring those Bambi eyes where his mommy and daddy were. She spoke before he had a chance to add in a pitiful whimper. "Come on then, baby, out in the middle."

He followed her orders, knowing her was defeated, but he moved as though across live snakes rather than matted-down blue foam. Cindy rolled her eyes as she removed her well-worn sneakers and rolled the uncomfortable elastic waistband of her sweatpants down several times. She instructed the fearful Miles to stretch out. He did so, copying her movments, but was still moving tediously as though at any moment Cindy would lapse out of her insanity and let him go free and unharmed.

"So," she said, hands on her hips again, "do you even know what tai chi is?"

He claimed he did, but the next stretch of time revealed to Cindy that his knowledge in the subjected extended only to the definition of the reference and the ability to shout out very loudly, althoughit was more in sporadic terror and pain than the sharp cries Cindy gave before making contact with her target. Miles, the unlucky target, was flipped and twisted and kicked around for a good twenty minutes before both of them stopped.

"Oh, come on, it's not _that_ bad."

Cindy was looking down at an exhausted Miles, who was laying face down on the mat, limbs sprawled around him, not moving or even remotely suggesting he had heard her. Mildly concerned, she walked over, stood above him, one foot on either side of his slender torso, and crouched down with an ear turned towards him. If she held her breath, she could detected the smothered whistle an exhale through the nose made when pressed against a tumbling mat. Unimpressed, she sat down on the small of his back and tucked the strands of her hair that had fallen out back into their ponytail.

"You'll never make it in the real world," she told him. Indignantly, his head and upper torso shot up; he would have been on his feet had Cindy not been pinning him easily to the ground.

"If this is what the real world is," he said, leaning on his elbows, "concider this my last will and testement: tell Emily I didn't mean to leave her; it's all your fault. I give Lizzie my "Outta Sync" c.d. that she loves so much, (don't tell her I never liked it anyways,) and I leave my mother – "

"Oh, hush up," Cindy snarled. "Forget mathmatics. You need to be majoring in dramatic theater."

"Which I never asked you about: how's the minor coming?"

"It was purely for entertainment to begin with, so much better than everything else."

"Including stinking chemistry?"

"Hey now, don't be dissing."

"Science reeks. I don't know why anyone would want to continue it."

"That's only what stupid people say, so bug off before I send you head over heels again."

Miles quickly shut up, so they both heard the slap of footsteps approaching the double doors, accompanied by the hollow, echoing sound of a basketball being dribbled. The feet stopped but the ball continued. Cindy twisted to her left, accidentally kicking Miles in the head as her leg swung around, to get a clear veiw of the door. Jimmy stood in the open frame, slightly silhouetted by the feckless rays remaining from the ebbing sunset beyond the outer glass doors. Still dribbling the ball with one hand, he asked, "Am I interrupting something, Vortex?"

"Actually, Nerd-tron, you're not." Cindy stood; Miles grunted from the pressure. "Miles is about as hopeless at tai chi as you were at 6th grade poetry. We're done here, so just let me clean up."

She turned her back on Jimmy, who had narrowed his eyes at her. Miles scrambled off the mat Cindy was disconnecting with blissful releif. Much to her disgust, he stumbled over to Jimmy and pumped the hand that was not keeping the basketball pounding the floor in a steady rhythm up and down energetically, practically, "I thank you so much! You've no idea what this woman does to a body!"

Peripherally, Cindy saw Jimmy glance over Miles' shoulder at her. She strongly suspected that the sniff followed by a small cough he gave was to cover a smirk. She frowned as he said, "In all my years of knowing her, I don't recall ever having the pleasure of a tai chi, er, _lessson._ She is rather passionate about things, as I'm sure you've noticed, so it could simply be that my short-term memory was jarred."

"Sure you didn't just jar it yourself, Nerd-tron?" Cindy retorted before she could stop herself. "You had plenty of ways to do it in that 'lab'."

Jimmy glared back at her. "Well, if I did, it's only because I had _you_ breathing down my neck about every little malfunction, Dork-tex!"

"Little! If the abduction of our parents was 'little' what do you call turning our teacher into a walking beastalk?"

"The result of proving you and your over-grown pansies that my plant was better!"

"Of course it was. I certainly would have prefered that dinosaur tooth picking over that spit bubble form of transporation."

"Hey, that would have gone far if I had found a way to get an inpenitrable outer shell into that gum form! It was more than _you_ could do; you were too busy stuffing student government ballot boxes!"

Already disgusted with their encounter, Cindy exploded in the most efective way that came to mind: with all her pent-up fury behind it, she stuck her tounge out and blew a raspberry at him. Jimmy, not missing a beat, stuck his tounge out while putting his thumb to his nosetip and waggling his fingers at her. Miles, who had been watching the conversation fly between the two of them, was shocked at the juvenile resolution to their immature – and rather confusing – vocal battle. Cindy turned her back on the pair of them and marched over to her bag, kicking a half-folded mat out of her path. Ripping open the zipper, she stuffed in her shoes and swung it over one shoulder. She hesitated only a moment when she realized the only door that would not lead to her the opposite side of campus she intended to storm through was behind Jimmy. He observed her with a cool look as she stalked by, glared, and hissed, "_Spew-tron._" He hissed back, "_Dork-tex._"

The outer door slammed shut behind her as she took off running, still in her socks and her bag banging against her hip with every other step. Being Friday night, she only encountered a few social-wary bookworms that hade not taken up the opportunity to go out. She ran all the way to the entrance of the library. She slowed as she approached worn looking bench, which she plopped down onto when she came upon it. Most of the strange and intense feelings of anger she had having been released in her flight, she stared emptily at the door of the library. She didn't realize how long she had been sitting there until Miles came up beside her, puffing.

Looking up, Cindy realized night had blanketed the area. A street lamp posted near the bench Miles took refuge on next to her choked through the smothering darkness. Stars had not yet begun to twinkle in the deep indigo sky that was free from even the wispiest of clouds. Cindy spread herself out on the hard and water-damaged wood, resting her head on the iron arm and her feet on Miles' lap. "Do you believe God has a sense of humor?" she asked him.

"I suppose so," he said, still in the prosess of regaining breath. He had opened up Cindy's bag and was putting her left shoe on its proper – now dirt-covered – foot. "We're made in His image, so I guess that includes raillery. He made Lizzie, righ? Why do you ask?"

"Well, my life's just turned into one big, sick joke." Miles finished tying her right shoe. "I just wondered if it was some whacked-up kink in fate, or if He thought, 'Hey, this will be great: let's see what would happen if I twisted this girl's life more times than an Ultra-Twisty at Wetzel's Pretzels.'"

Miles scoffed at this. "I'm sure it's not _all_ His fault. You'd be a lot better off if you took care of yourself. Honestly; running around in socks?"

"Sorry, mother dearest." She stood, picked up her bag, and ascended the stairs. "Let's see if the strain of work was too much for Lizzie."

As luck – or the jocular God – had it, their pretentious roommate was still stationed at a square work table surrounded by several bookshelves. The hundreds of surrounding books in the seclusive area absorbed the sounds the pair created while walking to the table. Even the soft swish of Cindy's nylon sweats was almost indistiguishable. A fortress of books piled around her, Lizzie was haunched over a piece of paper and repeating softly over and over again the formulas they needed to know for the experimental lab they would be having in the chemistry lab on Monday, her slender hands pressed over her ears and blocking out the non-existant noise. Miles looked surprised.

"Emily does this all the time," he explained. (They had walked right up behind her unnoticed.) "She wasn't gifted with the greatest memory on the planet. Somehow this helps her. I guess it runs in the family…" He brought a hand to his mouth and, putting in his middle finger and thumb, gave a short, shrill whistle. Cindy flinched; Lizzie took her hands of her ears and looked up.

"Hey!" she grinned. She shoved away a stack of books as Cindy and Miles sat in the chairs to her right. "You're back soon. Was Miles really that inept?"

"_No,_" Miles groused, glaring to his left at Cindy. "Cindy just seems to have a knack for starting up insult contests with her aquantances that happen upon us."

"Oh?" Lizzie said cuiously. Cindy wasn't willing to accede, so Lizzie looked past her at Miles again. "With whom?"

"I don't know," Miles said grumpily, still not happy with the events of the past half hour or the slam from his cousin. "Some guy. Tall, blue eyes, brown hair, looked like he just got off a motercycle – "

Lizzie gasped. She turned slowly, incrediously towards Cindy, who rolled her eyes heaven wards and pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her heels on the edge of her chair. "You met up with and _insulted PROFESSOR NUETRON!_"

Miles' jaw dropped. "Wait…" He was processing something, and to Cindy it looked as painful and slow as each word Lizzie had drawn out. "You just insulted _The_ James Issac Nuetron?"

Cindy sighed and picked up her bag, extracting her water bottle. "Yeah."

Neither of her friends knew what to make of this. Cindy didn't blame them. Miles found his tongue first.

"Do you know he is the inventor of half of The Science Foundation of America's components?"

"Our professor?"

"The teenager registered as a genius since the age of eight?"

"For hating science so much, you sure know a lot about our main-stream people."

"The greatest mind since Edison himself? Some are even arguing greater!"

"Our _chemistry teacher!_"

"The guy who invented the electromagnet, the main base around NASA's production and progress, at the age of _fourteen?_"

"Eleven," Cindy said, letting her bag fall back onto the thick carpeting with a muffled _whumph!_

The rhythm Miles had been maintaining stuttered. "Huh?"

"He invented the electromagnet when he was eleven," Cindy clarified, taking a swig of her water, "on a very long and tedious field trip to the rodeo. He only perfected and patented it when he was fourteen."

This was taken in with a stuned and confused silence. Expected. Cindy was strongly tempted to applaud Lizzie when, in only a matter of fourteen seconds, she was able to decipher out her thoughts into a "yes or no" question before Miles could: "You _know_ Nuetron?"

Cindy yawned, suddenly very tired. "Yeah, Lizzie. You know; our _chemistry professor?_ We see him every day after lunch?…"

"That's not what I meant," she snapped. She made her own conclusions without further comment from Cindy though. "You_ do_ know him. I _wondered_ what that big deal he made on our first day was about…"

Miles became intensly curious. Both he and his cousin were fixing Cindy with penetrating and questioning stares. She continued to suck at the sports cap on her water bottle for a moment or two, but the peircing looks became too much to withstand.

"I grew up across the street from him," she said, hugging her knees. "I went to school with him, my best friend dated and still dates _his_ best friend, we shared classes from when we werelike, eightuntil he moved away when I was twelve. Not a single day went by when the whole town didn't suffer from the effects of him and his half-baked ideas and malfunctioning inventions. One time we even had to deal with seven of him, and boy was that Hell."

"Oh, I'm sure," Lizzie said sarcastically. "Geeze, this is the weirdest thing I've ever heard, but it sure does clarify things."

"No kidding," Miles said. "It certainly makes their little 'argument' a bit more sensible."

"Only Cindy could find something to argue about with a genius."

"Was he really able to clone himself successfully?"

"Think of the prospects that could have for the world!"

"Imagine: James Nuetron has a total crush on _our_ _roommate_."

Cindy choked on her water. She was able to gasp out while coughing, "_What!_"

Miles thumped her on the back while Lizzie said, "Oh, don't you even protest. It's painfully obvious. I knew there was some connection between the two of you after the way he went pre-puberty boyish when he first saw you in class, but I never would have thought it ran as far back as kindergarten!"

"I wondered what the look he gave you was about in the gym," Miles said, needing to raise his voice slightly so Cindy, who was still attempting to expel the water from her windpipe, could hear him.

"Could have been the eight inch gap around her midriff and the close proximities," Lizzie observed. Cindy had had just about enough.

"Look," she said, her commanding tone coming off rather wheezy, "I have no idea what you guys are talking about. Jimmy and I have hated each other for as long as I care to remember, and I try to remember as little of my past as possible."

Miles and Lizzie shared look, one that expressed exasperation and better knowing, that infuiated Cindy in a very strong sense of déjà vu: they both looked identical to the look Libby had given her many months ago.

"Great," Lizzie sighed. "We've got a case of denial on our hands."

Cindy sprang to her feet, outraged and furious for the second time that evening. "I am NOT in denial!" she shouted. A scathing "_Shh!_" came from the opposite sides of one of the bookshelves. She lowered her voice to a venemous whisper.

"Jimmy can just go jump into a creek with Goddard for all I care, and I hope they both rust!"

"Who's Goddard?"

Lizzie's question went unanswered and Cindy went storming out of the library. _What is _with _the stinking human race?_ she thought savagly, glaring back at the librarian who was giving her a scalding look as she sprinted past her desk. Her built in auto-pilot kicked in and carried her home. Emily called up from the kitchen floor a hello and an invitation for a piece of fat-free brownie cake that Cindy said she would take up in a minute. She first went to her room, flopped down on her rumpled bed with the portable telephone to her own line, and punched in ten numbers. Her digital alarm clock reveild it was only eight o' clock; Libby wouldn't be out on the town for another few hours where she was. True to Cindy's prediction, the other line was answered after four rings.

"_Yellow ain't just a color."_

Cindy sighed and rolled onto her back. "Libs, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice."

"_Cin? Girl, feels like I havn't talked to you in for-_ev_-er! Ooh, I miss you so much; how you been?"_

Cindy sighed again, not so happily this time, though. "Do you really want to know?"

"_That bad? I thought that place was supposed to be full of uber-smart people like you."_

Cindy smiled and gave a dry, humorless chuckle. "Libby, you have no idea…"

* * *

A/N: This was a particularily fun chapter for me to write. I suddenly realized: this is chapter six and my main plot hasn't been introduced yet! At the rate I'm going, it will be nearing chapter 72 before I can wrap it up AND fit everything I wanted it to consist of in. I thought I was going to have to sacrifice a few things, but it was by inspiration of the new slinky I stuck in the cart while my mom was grocery shopping the other day, (and she bought for me, yay! ) that I was able to write this chapter and incorporate some of those tidbits that were in danger of beinge cut. (Slinkys are facinating things to watch. All these thoughts were suddenly worming their ways into my imagination while I was playing with it. Slinkys: saving works of literature for 60 years. God bless Mr. Slinky-maker-man.) Anyways, I'm not going to give you definites on anything quite yet, but it should only be a few more chappies until we are deep in the inter-workings of my devious plot! Muahahah! Run for the hills while you have a chance. 

**The Opal Fairy: **:bows: Thank you, thank you. Lol It _was_ a good episode, wasn't it? I couldn't stop giggling.  
**Phantomhobbit: **Thank you very much and I most certainly will!  
**Numba1JimmyFan:** Thanks a lot! Hope this was quick enough for you.  
**The CheezHead: **Glad I could make you laugh and even gladder you picked up so easily the most important bit of my story: a very hott guy. Keep reviewing, and thanks bunches!  
**fearthewind: **Well, my unobservant friend, you just keep dancing away! Keep reviewing, too. And I'm ashamed of you; of COURSE Carl likes llamas. …Not that he will be appearing again until later, but oh well… luv ya!  
**Elynsynos 18:** Aww, you're too sweet! I hope you got a temporary fill from this chapter.  
**Angela Jewell: **Hey again, and that's no prob. I've been having the same problem and that's why I hadn't updated this in a while. Anyways, thanks for the compliments, and thanks for reading along!  
**mjcmetal: **Thanks a lot! Hope you liked this bit.  
**fanjimmy: **Thank you. Although you aren't as overly-enthusiastic as jackie, you sure do get a point across well. Hope you liked this installment.  
**Barlee: **Oooh boy, it's Barlee's turn! Once again, thank you with all my heart for the review. And don't worry about me giving anything away in Sam's case; if it had been important and not likely to come up for a while, I wouldn't have told you. Yes indeed, Miles is hott and people can tell even without a head-to-toe. And yes, he and Cindy _do _get along….00 lol:dramatic music: GO AHEAD, PEOPLE! ASSUME AWAY! Ahem. Moving on! Cody: did make an appearance, will be making even more, and is becoming one of my fav OC's now, would you believe it, though he is eerily beginning to sound like my best friends cousin, but you don't know who he is or what I am talking about, so we are going to move on again and remove whatever drug I took from my daily intake. I'm glad you like the show references. I really enjoy throwing them in; reminds me and readers who we are really talking about. It keeps me grounded to some of their canon characteristics, (like Jimmy's naivity and by-the-book standards, as you noticed,) and stops me from floating off too much and creating more Cody's. Character development is one of my all-favorite past-times (geeze, I need to get away from the writing world XD ) but also seems to be a very over-looked factor in many works on this site, so I do my best to make up for all of it, so EVERYONE who was ever mentioned in this fic will have at the very least a paragraph depicting them. (And you weren't supposed to make the Cody connection just yet! Shh! Give me another chapter!) Keep reviewing:prances in circles and emits very frightening happy noises that accompany lots and lots of hearts:  
**jackie: **You've left me no other options than to comply to your wishes. (Though I'd like to see you try and find me out here in the middle of nowhere that is 114 degrees out. bleh.)  
**Sefadora Firewood: **Okay okay okay! Keep reviewing, and enjoy!  
**Retroville9:** Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it!  
**Hermione Granger63:** Well good! You had me worried there for a moment. Thank you so much! Hope you thought the same about this bit.  
**EL CHUPACABRA: **Well, Mr. Rambler, good to hear from you again and good to know you're not dead. Miss Hermione above you almost did, so it seems to be going around. And it's alright if you don't keep up; I won't shoot you, and I do have Barlee. So long as you are enjoying it, I'll be happy. (CINDY AND JIMMY FOR ALL ETERNITY! WOOT!) Anyways…I like your little face things, so who cares if you are the only guy. It's your coolness mark! As for the college thing, I wouldn't know what the _full_ blow is like since I'm only 14, but I've taken a few courses and classes at a local community one and they were actually really, _really_ fun. Cindy's only furious over it because of her superior knowledge; I figured she would be far ahead of it and – duh – this _is_ Miss Negativity we are talking about. Old Cindy flaring up again, you see. Enjoy, and thanks!  
**The Cougar:** Thanks!  
**Jerry:** Oh, don't worry; I will. just don't die on me until then! Everyone seems to be doing that andI wonder if it's me...


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **Reality bites with varying sizes of teeth. In this case, the jumbo-sized elephant teeth would be the fact that I don't own Jimmy Nuetron.

A/N: My my. That was a rather quick update. Surprised? I am too! Anyways...soooit's not as fluffy as the marshmallow ball I originally had planned it would explode into, but it's not agnsty, so I'm okay. And my reveiwers are too, apparently, because it took me two pages to respond to them all last chapter! Anyways, why are you reading this? You're here for the story! You can find it directly below the divider line. Enjoy.

* * *

Even though turning down Cody's invitation of joining him in a night out on Friday led to the uncheerful encounter with Cindy and some…other guy in the gym, Jimmy still did not take it up when it was repeated Saturday night. (The aftermath from two weeksprevious had been enough to scare him off college parties for life.) Instead, he spent the evening fiddling with his watch; it had been acting funny for quite some time and kept picking up faint interceptions. 

Sunday morning, he left his apartment with a one-strapped bag containing his laptop, wallet, and stack of pre-lab papers that were still in need of grading before the next day, giving strict orders to Reeves to alert him if anyone called and not to let Cody get ahold of his cheese-ray again. (Even though he had sufficient enough money to do so, Jimmy loathed repurchasing all his furniture.) He wandered down the street to Zoey's Café, a little coffee and sandwich shop he often went to when the agonizing dullness of grading papers required a relief of better ambiance. Around noon, Cody appeared at the same time his third vanilla latte did.

"Morning, Jim," he said, looking no less chipper now than two consecutive evenings free of drinks and dances would have left him. He stepped up into one of the bar-height chairs with a little bounce and took a sip of the coffee next to Jimmy's notebook. Jimmy looked up from the lit laptop screen.

"How do you do it?" he asked, utterly intrigued.

"Beg y'pardon?" Cody responded.

"How do you go on like this, night upon endless night?" Cody grinned. Jimmy went on, still facinated. "You'd think that eventually either your liver or muscular structure would just collapse from the sheer over-working from it all." Cody tried not to look too pleased with himself.

"My parents were born '80's teens," he said in defense and explanation. "Slaves of rock and roll, party animals, and the best people to ask when you've got a toothache." When Jimmy raised an eyebrow at this, Cody said, "They're dentists, the both of them. They have the best practice open in the state of Nevada."

"I never pictured the creators of someone like you settling for a lifetime of flossing other people."

"Flossing brings in good money in the Gambling State."

"Pays for all the furniture you destroy, eh?"

"You should really tell people what damage those inventions of yours can do, you know?"

"You should stop poking around in a strange lab. You're lucky you didn't find my human-eating plant."

"You have a human-eating plant? Man, this coffee's good."

"Yes, and I'd thank you not to drink it. It _was_ partial to girls before, but I havn't touched it since I moved six years ago, so it'll probably eat anything that's stupid enough to come in contact with it."

"That's plant cruelty, you know. I'll bet you don't treat Goddard that way."

"You've caught me. I'm biased against own lesser inventions."

"So long as you can admit it."

Jimmy let Cody continue on with his ramblings and got back to work, occaionally tuning in and catching tid-bits here and there. People were constantly moving around the pair. When the flow slowed a bit, Jimmy sent the still-gabbing Cody to fetch him a chicken parmesan sandwich. Cody continued to drink Jimmy's coffee instead of ordering his own. Jimmy didn't bother to tell him to buzz off. He finished grading nearly three quarters of the papers. His sandwich was supurb, but not entirly filling. He was too absorbed in his work to order another one. Cody continued to prattle. People continued to mill about. Suddenly, Cody grabbed Jimmy's arm, startling him out of his state of mind, and gasped, "Omigosh, Jimmy, there she is!"

Jimmy looked up, confused. "Huh?"

"That girl I told you about." Cody hissed, looking horrified that Jimmy had spoken above a whisper, even though the chances of it being heard by anyone over the low rumble of traffic or murmers of conversation were close to none.

Jimmy stretched his arms and arched his back. "Oh, the one go on endlessly about, though you've seen her only once – for a grand total of six seconds – and said three words to?" He laced his hands and rested them on the top of his head as Cody, thrilled he understood, whispered, "Yeah!"

Jimmy rolled his eyes, but Cody persisted onwards. "Look! She's right over there, just look!"

The general direction Cody was motioning towards with a jerk of his head was crowded with people, but they cleared and revealed a girl sittting three tables away from their own, her right side turned slightly towards them. She was bent over a legal-sized yellow pad of paper, intently copying notes down from the open laptop. Her blonde hair spilled over the shoulders of her wine-colored tee-shirt and hung in front of her face, obstructing Jimmy's veiw, but when she sat up and shook it back, he could clearly see she –

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," he said incredulously. Out of the thousands of people… "That's her?"

"Yeah," Cody repeated, smugly, interpreting Jimmy's open mouth incorrectly. The dreamy expression he often wore those days returned as he continued to gaze at Cindy, who had not yet taken notice of her gawkers. "What do you think would happen if I were to ask her out?

Jimmy shuffled his papers around as he said, "I think she'd tai chi your sorry backside all the way to New York, to be completely honest with you."

Cody was intrigued. "You know her?"he asked.

"Yeah," Jimmy replied dryly. "She would be the bomb."

Cody's mouth formed into a small _o_. He looked between Cindy, who was still diligently transfering information from computer screen to notepad with a blue pen, to Jimmy, who was just as diligently putting away his papers in the event that Cindy might take Cody's invitation of a date in an even worse way and moving swiftly would be nessisary for his saftey. "Sooo…" Cody said hesitantly. "You wouldn't mind me asking her out?"

Jimmy snorted. "Why would I care?"

"Oh! We-ell-aah…" Cody stammered off and stood up quickly. He wound his way through the many people and furnishings that created a barrier between him and his destination, clumsily bumping into several of the former and stubbing his toe up against one of the latter. Jimmy sat back and watched in fascinated amusment: his friend was actually _nervous_. He came right up next to Cindy without any serious damage being created, though. Cindy, who was now chewing on her pen as she was peering at something on the screen of her laptop, looked up when Cody cleared his throat. They were clase enough that Jimmy could hear the conversation that ensued well enough.

"Hi!" Cody chirped. Jimmy grimaced. "I'm sorry if I'm inturrupting, but I was just sitting over there with my friend, and I couldn't help noticing that you look a lot like my next girlfriend."

Cindy looked over in the direction Cody had stupidly jestured at and locked eyes with Jimmy. Cindy's brilliantly green ones narrowed, suspicious and obviously still infuriated with the encounter she had come into with Jimmy the other night. Jimmy mouthed _"I'm so sorry"_, shifting his gaze to Cody and back. Cindy did not appear to be consoled. She looked back up at Cody, her frown transforming into an overly-sweet smile. She still sported a bit of a glare, though, giving her a thoroughly heinous look. Jimmy winced for his friend.

"As entirly sentimental and touching that over-used pick-up line was, I'm afraid I don't associate with inferior personages, especially ones whose I.Q.'s, when dividing mine, still leave a number big enough to be confused with tax fluctuations."

Cody's eyebrows flew up. Jimmy bit both his lips to keep a laugh from escaping. Cindy's smile broadened, but it was not all that sweet any more. She waved her pen in the air as if to shoo a fly away. "I'm afraid I have work to do, or else I would love to continue this conversation."

Cody continued it anyways, completely flabbergasted. "Do you always respond to potential dates this way?"

"Just the unoriginal ones," Cindy sighed, resting her elbow on the table and putting her chin in her hand.

"You don't think it rude?" Cody asked, looking much like a wide-eyed child being told his favorite toy had been crushed into the ground by his favorite super hero.

"You don't think it rude to march up and inturrupt someone while they're busy with school work?" she sneered. "I'm sure the crowd you hang around may not do that stuff, but majority of us actually _try_ to make use of our time here."

"You would be majority, then?"

"I won't say you're smarter than you look, but I'm glad you have brains enough to recognize _that_."

Cody tried to give her parting smile, but it flittered and died. Cindy grinned, showing him all her pearly white teeth, and turned back to her work. Jimmy did not know how Cody handled the small journey back to his seat because he needed to bury his face in his arms before he lost all control and burst out laughing. When he heard the chair neighboring his creak as 130 pounds of college student was deposited on it, he sat up, a straight face maintained, and said to his friend, "I'm sorry, man. I tried to warn you…"

Cody looked sick. He was pale and his eyes were wide, his pupils dilated so much there was hardly any of the stormy gray showing. Jimmy shook his arm, concerned.

"Hey, it's not _that _bad," he said. Cody slowly turned and looked at him.

"I – was – _refused!_" Each word was slowly and painfully hissed. Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"It's because you're so cocky," he told him, turning his attention back to laptop screen. "She can't stand cocky, the hypocritical, irascible little cur…"

"I am not cocky!" Cody cried, shock being replaced by outrage. Jimmy clicked open his internet connection when the flashing image of a mailbox told him an unopened e-mail awaited him.

"Oh, sure," he drawled sarcastically. "_'I – was – _refused!_'_ The mark of an innocently polite prince charming." He moved the whimsical, atom-shaped cursor on the plasma screen to the link that would lead him to his on-line acount.

"Well, what would you have done?" Cody challenged, waggling Jimmy's half-empty and now cooled coffee at him. "Gone over and struck up a conversation about the new advancements the electromagnet has made in the discoveries of the scientific world?"

"Of course not," Jimmy said distractedly, confused at the information the new e-mail gave him: unknown name. "I invented the electromagnet; she knows that. I very well couldn't have talked about the advancements something I created has made. That would be cocky."

"Whatever," was Cody's disgruntled answer. Jimmy would have bet Goddard he went on, but he was not paying attention. He wasn't paying attention to _anything_ going on around him. What he had cyberly opened up in front of him had seemed to suck out his ability to use any of his senses. (Other than his sight, of course, because even after blinking several times, the horrible message in front of him still remained.) Gradually, his hearing returned, but all he was able to discern with it was the loud and rapid beating of his heart and his heavy, ragged breathing.

_WhatamI going to do?_

* * *

A/N: Okay, so this is a bit shorter than the others. I'm sorry! More is on it's way. This was a sort of transitional chapter and bit of comic releif. (For me. I was bored out of my mind and needed to write something…stupid. I settled for this, even though it is insulting and hillariously like the first time my grandpa asked my grandma out.) And now it's time for me to get into the good stuff. You'll notice that wanna-be cliffie at the end? Yeah, that's my intro for plots-to-be. Nice, eh?

**pokey:** Thanks!  
**Angela Jewell: **Thank you so much! I think the fics where they are older – and more "mature", as you said – are my favs. I'm glad you enjoy it as well.  
**Nuetron Phantom: **Thanks! And don't worry; there will be.  
**jackie: **Florida, eh? Ew. At least Arizona is dry. That still doesn't justify the triple-digit weather in the second week of May. Anyways, hope you liked this chapter.  
**Readrbug21: **Thank you so much! Lol, well, if my slinky permits, I'll make it really long. I don't know if either of us will be able to make it to 72, though.  
**The CheezHead: **I'm glad you loved the entirety of last chapter so much. Haha, you really made me laugh with that "EVERYBODY LOOK! SHE'S EATING A COOKIE!" because I have a friend just like that. I based Emily partially off of her and partially off a roommate my mom had in college who was a total hippie. Lol, and I totally agree on you with the argument thing. I almost didn't have that bit in there, but then I realized it would be a complete sin. It just flows so naturally to have a fight between Cindy and Jimmy, like peatnut butter and jelly, and apple slices and caramel, and Shandon without the company of her annoying younger siblings while she is trying to write an update for her loving reveiwers. Grr…sorry. Rambling; you know all about that, huh? ; ) Anyways, I'm glad my OC's aren't as annoying as my mons – er, siblings. That would have made me feel dreadful to do something like that to you. Good luck with school!  
**Flower Powerer: **I'm so glad! And don't worry; I started laughing when one of my friends said "bucket" the other day, so I know exactly what you mean. (I'm not crazy, it just sounded weird. "Buc-ket". Haha, ok, so maybe I'm a _little _touched.)  
**MagicV: **Thank you so much! I will!  
**A Pleasant Reader: **You are too, too kind. I don't, don't mind though! Lol, thank you, and happy reading!  
**Elynsynos 18: **Here it is, up as fast as I could get it! And I hope that's a comfortable chair you are in. I hate being on the edge of my seat when it's a sharp edge poking into my bum, and that's the last thing I would want for one of my readers.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, and I'm perfectly alright with that. My therapist tells me I am a strong, independent woman without it, and she and some strong medication are helping to convince me of that.

A/N: I FINALLY saw The League of Villans (during like, the last playing re-run); I think I had the stupidest grin on my face the whole time. Obsessed? I think so. Anyways, I was inspired by it – and all my fantastic reveiwers – to write. (I was inspired before, of course, but I was just too excited waiting for the re-run to air I couldn't bring myself to do it.) Before I ramble on, though, back to the many reveiws I got. I think half of you predicted death. What foolish pessimists to think I would do such a thing! (Okay, I take that back. You're not foolish. Just pessimistic. I still love you all, though!) This is the leading step into an even more eventful… event. I need some new synonyms.

* * *

Monday afternoon, day of their first lab, and Jimmy was late. Again. Cindy didn't mind all that much. After the complete idiots they had both made out of themselves in the gymnasium on Friday and the stupid little fiasco with him and his equally stupid little friend on Sunday, she wasn't all that thrilled about the prospect of being contained in such a small square footage with him again. She took the given time to work on an essay for English Literature with Lizzie. 

"I've no idea why you want to do this so soon," her roommate complained. "It's not due for another three weeks!"

"I prefer not to start when the deadline is looming so ominously near," Cindy sighed. "It heightens the anxiety and writing becomes less natural and without flow. Best to do it when it will turn out best – without procrastination."

"Thank you, Dr. Phil," Lizzie groused, chin in hand.

Cindy wondered why the essay could be so opposing on her friend when the topic was so intently focused on her favorite subject of matter. Cindy stuck the piece of paper with the promt scribbbled on it under Lizzie's nose and inquired whether she had read it or not.

"Ahh, yes," Lizzie serenaded. "The impecable writings of Mark Twain. What a perception, eh?"

"'Love: the irresistable desire to be irresistibly desired.' A great big load of crock compacted into eight words."

"That's just what people in denial say."

Cindy rolled her eye with a huff and refrained from biting back. She was greatful she had not mentioned aloud the second encouter with Jimmy; she had gotten enough grief – i.e. the denial accusation – during the past weekend. The last thing her roommates needed was additional fuel to add to their firey inquirations of every minute of her past, because even time spent away from her Jimmy dearest could hold the utmost importance to the key behind her true love. (Or so she had been told repeatedly.) She was coming to see her friends as the siblings she had never wanted, because no matter how many times she told them Jimmy could get the whole campus – no, _state_ – taken over by pants and she wouldn't bat an eyelash, they persisted on, as well as not understanding her quip.

On cue, (but without killer jeans in pursuit,) Jimmy burst through the door and pounded into the room with Goddard following closely at his heels. They both skidded to a halt at Jimmy desk, and Jimmy gasped out, breathing heavily, "So sorry. Was – detained… I …partner up – lab…" He weakly waved an arm at them to carry on. Lizzie and Cindy shared a look, but they stood and made the nessisary preperations for the testing that was to be done in the lab experimentations. Goddard, with his mechanical advantages, bounded up to Cindy when she was spotted without showing any signs of having run a conciderable distance. Jimmy was still too winded to call him.

"Hey boy!" Cindy cooed, dropping down to one knee and petting him fondly on the head. "How have you been? Bet you didn't expect to see _me_ here, huh?" Goddard shook his head. His television moniter opened and the message "Jimmy never mention you were in his class," scrawled across it.

"Sounds like Neutron," Cindy said. "Too busy creating an alternate blood source or something to remember life." Jimmy had walked up and caught the message just before it was erased and replaced with the start of another one. He made a wild dive forward, shutting the screen. Still holding it closed, he stammered, "Er, don't you have some chemicals to be testing?" Cindy stood, unable to withhold an involuntary nose-wrinkle at him, and continued on to the storage shelves where the beakers she was in need of lay. Unfortunatly for her psyche, Lizzie was watching the interludes with a less-than-amused smile that Cindy was unable to avoid no matter what particular corner of the room it was she pretended to take interest in.

"Just shut up," Cindy muttered.

"I didn't say anything," Lizzie said airily as she preped the test tubes, her voice a bit too bright for her friend to think an I-told-you-so comment wasn't on the mind. Cindy turned her back to her to help Sam, the friendly giant, who was was having some difficulty in lighting his Bunsen burner. He created a flame only once and it was to his fringe which stuck sraight out most inconvieniently from his forhead, (much like the rest of his dark hair did, no matter what was done to it.) Cindy came to his aid with the Bunsen burner; Goddard took care of the hair matter.

"Thank you," he the the former, his sable eyes filled with gratitude. "We'll all be lucky if I don't blow the lab up before the hour is out." Cindy grinned.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said. "That's Neutron's job."

Sam glanced across the room, his eyes falling on Jimmy's back in the opposite corner. He leaned in towards Cindy and said softly, "I heard from my older brother he blew out the windows in all the classrooms down the hallway last year from a big blow-up he caused. So it's really true then?"

This was news to Cindy. "Did he now? Well! _That's_ one he never managed in elementary school. What was he using?"

Sam shrugged, sables eyes wide. "He doesn't seem like a very, er, _by the books_ professor, does he?"

Cindy shook her head, pulling the protective goggles resting on the top of her head over her emerald eyes before measuring out the correct amount of liquid from the first of vials. "He's younger than you, has never dated, and been in college practically half his life. Expect naivity and eccentricities. I'd just go with it while holding onto something very sturdy."

Sam, looking not in the least bit more comforted by the affirmation of his chemistry professor, turned back to his own lab set-up, pulling a pair of screening gloves on and over the cuffs of his lab coat. Cindy set the test tube full of the mystery liquid next to two that Lizzie had already measured out. "Do you always have to scare people like that?" she asked.

"With what?" Cindy scoffed. "The truth?" She accepted a paper testing strip from her partner. She dipped an eyedropper into the first tube, sucked up some of the liquid, and deposited two drops onto the strip.

"You could just lie, you know," Lizzie said, recording in wide, loopy writing the bile-green color the testing paper turned on asheet of notebookpaper. "It would make all our lives so much happier. I know that I, for one, could have gone without the account of that guy – Carl? – eating those alien blubber nuggets, or whatever they were."

"If I recall, though, you were the one who asked," Cindy voiced. She bent down, making sure the liquid she was pouring into a small beaker was level and the proper amount. Instinct strayed her hand as she was moving the item to the burner. She glanced at Lizzie, repremanded herself, then glanced down at Goddard, who had remained near her station in the event of Sam setting something – or someone, namely himself – on fire again.

"What's that rule about sulfur again?" she asked him. He tilted his head to the side, as much of a shrug as a metal canine could give. Although still perplexed, she set the beaker on the grill above the small flame. Following the instructions, she lifted up a small, clear tube about the size of her thumb and uncorked the end. She half-listened to the low murmerings of her peers as she waited for small bubbles to appear in the simmering beaker, wondering what it was that was bothering her about the set mandates.

Goddard barked twice as Cindy lifted the vial and shook the sulfur powder into the softly boiling liquid. Jimmy, who was still observing several groups across the room and in the middle of telling them about a very important ommision from the instructions, turned at Goddard's outcry. Horrified, he dashed across the room, dodging people and tables, crying out, "Oh, no! No no no no! Oh no! No no! Oh!" Cindy turned around; Jimmy grabbed her about the waist, both moving past her and shoving her away from the table in one deft movement. He lept for the beaker just as it exploded.

The class had gone deathly still. Lizzie had backed up as far away from the table as she had been able and was pressed up against a fake marble-top counter, both hands covering her mouth and eyes enormously expanded. Sam was torn between a look of horrer and facination. Goddard produced a hand broom and dustpan and began to sweep up the glass remnants. Jimmy had not yet moved. His arms were still held in the air and reaching for the now-shattered beaker. He turned slowly, jerkily.

He was dripping with the mixed chemicals. The cuffs of his lab coat and several patches on his chest and arms were scorched. His face twitched several times, as though he were going to say something, but he either could not summon enough vocal capability or nerves to communicate in any other way than to shake his still raised arms a few times. Cindy knew it didn't help _any_ matters, but she couldn't help it: she burst out laughing.

Jimmy's eyes shot open. He stared at her incredulous, but she didn't stop. She couldn't. She laughed harder, if anything. Locating a chair next to her, she collapsed into it, holding her side and wiping away tears that leaked from the corners of her eyes. "Out of all the years," she gasped, "it's finaly my fault, and you still get the blow!" Jimmy glowered at her as she went off into another fit of hysterics. He was muttering under his breath as he passed her and returned back to the area he was at previous to the exploding lab assignment, where he finished telling them to not mix the sulfur powder with the chemical in test tube number three when it was to be boiled.

Lizzie was horrified. She looked it, and she made sure Cindy knew in several dozen different ways, (most of them verbal), while they were cleaning up the mess, leaving class, on the way to their final subject, on the way home, and even when Cindy closed the door to the shared bathroom to take a shower, the shrill voice followed her with a final admonishment: "…you just sat there and _laughed! _I can't believe you _laughed_ at him!"

"I'm sure if you tried really hard, you could find some way," Cindy retorted, turning on the water as she undressed herself and let her hair down from her ponytail. Lizzie blessedly abandoned her post at the bathroom door in favor of the living room, where Emily had just deposited her things after walking in the door. Cindy could tell by the lack of vibrations coming up through the floor that even Miles had turned of his music and abandonded his domain to hear the exaggeration-enriched Thriller of the Day. She cut her shower as short as possible to save herself a bit of skin. Emily was staring wide-eyed as she emerged.

"Well, Cindy," she said, sitting Indian style in the armchair, hands clasped and in her lap, "it sounds as though you had a rather eventful afternoon."

"Without the 'rather'…yeah, you could say that," Cindy said. Miles laughed and stood, heading back to his cave once more. Lizzie, still outraged and shocked, huffed to the room she shared with Emily. The latter also stood and said brightly, "Hey! I could use your help with a project I have to do."

Cindy smiled ruefully. "Thanks, Em, but painting is _really_ not my thing."

"Oh, I know!" her ever-cheerful friend chirped. It was quite out of context to the comment that made Cindy scowl. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's not like that. I'm supposed to introduce someone to an abstruse form of releasing the soul. Just go find some clothes you wouldn't mind ruining…"

"An abstruse form of releasing the soul" turned out to be what Cindy called "artistic crap". She didn't use this term in front of her neurotic friend, though, and politely listened to the many moods, feelings, and emotions behind the random swirls and designs of abstract art. She was nearly convinced by the time the heartfelt and admissible speech and been delivered.

Cindy found the actual painting to be even more fun and amusing than the motivational address. She and Emily giggled constantly over skewed interpritations of the other's composition. Occasionally, Cindy flipped her canvas, giving her different angles of abstract possibilities and even stronger conformations that if this really was what was deeply imbeded in her subconcious as Emily said, then she was quite some distance down the road to lunacy. Somewhere amidst their fun, the doorbell rang. Cindy answered it after losing "rock, paper, scissors" to her contender. When she opened it, she really wished she had done "rock".

"Cindy, you've no ide – " Jimmy cut himself short and looked her up and down once before intently focusing on the hydrangea bushes to the left of their small porch. "Um…did I come at a bad time?"

Cindy was perplexed; she gave herself a once-over that erased that. She was wearing a light blue tee-shirt, two sizes too small and had a brownstain over her left collerbone, denim shorts not fit for the public world, and gray socks that came up to just below her knees with black '80's argyle stitched on, nearly her whole entire being speckled with paint. "The fact that you came over at all might imply that it is," she said, very self concious of the fact that her hair was wet, curling, and had not been brushed. "What did you do now?"

He opened his mouth to speak again when he noticed Emily just over Cindy's shoulder. "I'll be right back, Em," she said. She nodded and went back to painting. Cindy stepped across the threshold of the door after slipping her feet into the first pair of shoes they came in contact with: Miles' bright orange Converse sneakers. Fantastic.

"Alright," she said, closing the door behind her, "What's up?"

Jimmy looked dreadful. The way he was holding himself up insinuated that strenuous physical activities he had participated in stretched beyond just a sprint to a late class. He had bags under red-rimmed eyes. He had changed out of the lab coat that had suffered casualties from Cindy's experiment blow-up and into an un-charred one. He laughed wheezily at the door frame behind Cindy, his voice cracking and stuttering with exhaustion. "If you only knew. I-I've done _everything_ I possibly could! I've called everyone, every_thing,_ I-I-I've tried communication, a-and messages, and – "

Cindy was becoming worried as well as impatient. "Would you quit the rambling and just tell me what's wrong?"

Jimmy ran a hand through his hair as he studied the woodwork he was standing on. "I got an e-mail yesterday. A rather threatening one."

"You insult a lot of people. Who from?" Cindy put her hands on her hips and stared him down.

"Well, it's not really a 'who' than more of a 'what'." Jimmy looked her in the eye for the first time. What Cindy saw behind them terrified her.After a pause he said, slowly and drawn out, "It would seem that King Goobot found me again. And not just me. _All_ of us."

* * *

A/N: Woot! I pulled some more all-nighters writing this. I love summer vaca. Not that I didn't pull all-nighters when it _wasn't_, but that's not the point. The point is: I don't know where I'm going, but that doesn't matter because another chapter is up and I want some Milk Duds! Thanks again to my diligent reveiwers! Any more and my replies will be as long as the chapters. 

**Flower Powerer: **Hope your concerns were heightened! Lol, I like pudding. It's sugar-filled. (Not that I need anymore of that…)  
**Arein:** Haha, I LOVE that song! I'm afraid I can't tell you anything right now, though. It's a secret!  
**NeutronPhantom:** Thanks so much, and good luck with yours!  
**Phantomhobbitses:** Thank you, and don't worry about it. I surprised my_self_ with such a quick update! You never had time!  
**Halfa-Goddess: **Aww! Thank you so much! I have authors on alert that I geek out about when there stuff turns up in my mail. I feel so weird – but happy – that I'm one of them!  
**Barlee:** Ahh, the irrepressible Barlee. To start off, I'm VERY pleased you enjoyed it so much. Second, that was my chronic sarcasm acting up again when I made that 72 chapters comment. Very sorry. Next, I am NOT trying to make a MilesxCindy! (Sorry if I quashed any hopes for anyone!) You hit it spot-on with the brother description. Lol, and I couldn't help but love him even more, and I created him! XD I'm such a dork! The library scene – can you believe that was one of the things I was afraid I was going to have to leave out? I was so ecstatic when I moved things around to make it work; you've no idea how long I've had that stuck in my head, just waiting to be smooged out into an update! Phwew! Onto review numbah two! YAY! I'm glad I could make you laugh; it sure made me when my grandma told me this was how she met Grandpa. (Although I did up the snottiness coming from Cody. I couldn't help myself, lol!) As for the pick-up line, I had never heard it until my friend – who I think is out of her mind, but whom I love dearly anyways – sent everyone a series of e-mails that had hundreds of pick-up lines for both genders, as well as responses to some of them. (The response Cindy gave him was not one of them, btw. Lol.) What did I do with these, though? Deleted them by accident like any idiot would. Where was I … oh yeah. I just really liked that particular line. (I'm high off a Jimmy Neutron marathon. Forgive my rambling.) Btw - hope you liked the classroom fun in this chap, lol! I hope I made it – oh, how did you put it… "so alive". (Of which you are just too sweet to say:LOTS AND LOTS OF HEARTS:) And you are most certainly allowed to ask questions, (sharpens the mind, you know,) I just don't know if I will be answering them…:waggles eyebrows: lol! Lots of hearts and smiles! Keep me updated on things to be fixed!  
**pokey:** Thank you!  
**Angela Jewell: **Thanks! But I sure don't; I've got typers cramp! (And I didn't know that could happen until last week. I pulled two all-nighters squishing that together because I just couldn't stop! Lol, I'm such an obsesser.)  
**SHAWN: **OKAY!  
**A Pleasant Reader:** Well, I'm very sorry about that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter despite my incorrigible manners.  
**The CheezHead:** pff, lucky! Only two? I've got three. Good luck with that homicide, though. Don't get caught. Well, you called that turn-for-the-worse thing well; unfortunatly, there's just so much that needs to be mushed in, Cody will not be making any major appearances. :tear: I had a lot of fun with him in the previous chapter, though, and it seems you did too. And I agree with you on the guy thing; my friend's cousin – who Cody is based partially off of – is so out there and up front about things, it's almost infuriating at times, but I still love him to death. (Not to mention: he is incredibly pretty.) I new it would be impossible to make Cody sound as self-assured as my friend is and still be as funny and lovable as he is as well, so I didn't even bother. I went wild. Too much cauw-fee might be part of the reason, lol!  
**ReadrBug21: **I hope I got you off of them some in this chapter. I'm in contact with pins and needles a lot, and they hurt!  
**MagicV:** No death. Knowing the truth, what do you think?  
**The Opal Fairy: **No worries! And thanks so much; I certainly will!  
**Elynsynos 18: **Thanks! And I don't mind the "rushing"; I do it at my own pace either way! Lol!  
**Halley Renee: **I'm really sorry. I hate that whenever I'm reading a story. I can't believe I've turned into one of the tormentors! I'm glad you love it anyways.  
**ReddistheRose: **Do you need a bag? Because I would hate for you to die before this is over. I've got lots more up my sleeve, but I can say this with full sincerity: the CindyxCody thing with jealous Jimmy on the side was _never_ one of them. I would have taken painful death over bringing myself to write something like that. I would have never been able to do it.  
**EL CHUPACABRA: **Thanks so much! I've been feeling rather melty myself just writing it. Mine are usually more little fuzzies than melties, but to each his own. I feel the same way about the God thing and I'm glad there's comeone else out there who feels the same way. I'm LDS, so expressing what I feel and believe about my values and my religion have never been a big deal. To me, it's second, if not first, nature and something that needs to be accepted by the world. (Not that expressing what I think and feel about _anything_ has ever been a stopper to me. It'll be my down-fall one day, I swear it.) Thanks again, good luck with work, and smile at five strangers just to see how many will smile back!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** So it's not mine. Big deal. You're all a bunch of poo-heads anyways…

* * *

Cindy looked surprised, terrified, and then confused. "What do you mean 'found us'? Hasn't he known where we've been the past seven years?"

"And not have acted upon it?" Jimmy snapped, though he instantly regreted it, because as soon as the words left Cindy's mouth she seemed to realize what ill use of such knowledge would have been for Goobot. "After he rallied the League of Villains, I knew he wasn't going to stop trying to get revenge. I created a microscopic cloaking devise that would hide you, me, the whole gang back home, anyone and everyone related to us that Goobot might reek his vengeance on. It's impenetrable to any disabling unit, tracking devise, satalite, and radar; not even Goddard's readings can pick it up; I made sure of it. Only I can shut it down."

Cindy rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. She fixed him with a how-did-I-know-you-were-going-to-screw-up-again stare that was all too familiar and was strangly relieving for Jimmy to see. "Which you did _how?_"

Jimmy figited timorusly. He had been hoping for a simple "Jeeze, you idiot, what can we do to fix it", but he should have known better with Cindy and her need-to-know-all personality. "Well," he stammered, stalling uslessly – and poorly for that matter. "Ah, it woud seem that – some time back when I was in a bit of a, er, _state_, it seems I accidentally, um, disabled Vox with my watch and she shut down all the programs she was monitoring…the chip being one of them, obviously."

A malicious grin creeped slowly onto Cindy's features. _Very pretty features, _he thought. He mentally hit himself, horrified for thinking such a thing. She giddily and directly mocked him with the exact statement he had been hoping to avoid: "You were drunk."

"I was not!" he protested. He was inconveniently distracted by a spot of yellow paint by the left corner of her mouth, though, and didn't meet her eyes.

"Yes you were," she said back, taking his sudden distraction as an avoidment of the truth. She crossed her arms under her chest; his focus was caught again and shifted to a small dab of purple on her right wrist that was shaped like the state of Minnisota. He kept his full attention on it as she exposed him. "If I know you – and don't tell me I don't – the strongest thing you've taken in your life would be an asprin. Don't think I didn't see you two weeks ago; one doesn't get a hang-over from Purple Flurp. You were fully and totally plastered!"

He flicked his eyes up to hers and was surpised to see she was grinning. "What are we going to do with you, James Isaac Neutron? I ought to tell your mother."

"Could we perhaps focus on the problem at hand instead?" he grumbled, very put off at her odd behavior and the close proximities a brown stain on her shirt had to – _Loosing focus._ He mentally and physically shook himself. "Look, if you know me so well, you know that the fact that I came to you implies that I've tried every possible option to try to resolve this." Cindy looked only mildly insulted at this. Jimmy looked past it in his frazzled mood. "I need your help."

"You need _some _help, there's no denying that," she said, scratching a spot on her knee absently. "I don't know what you expect _me_ to do, though. Why not get Carl and Sheen? They've been all to willing to be your guinea pigs in the past…"

Jimmy was flabbergasted that she had put them over herself, even if unwittingly. "Cindy, Carl still sleeps with a stuffed llama, and Sheen's doctor is running out of medication options!"

"Oh, but that eye twitch is getting so much better."

"I can't belive I'm having this conversation with you!" Jimmy burst out in frustration, throwing his hands in the air and pacing back and forth. "Unbelievable!"

"Well, I just don't know what you expect _me_ to do!" Cindy said matter-of-factly.

"I don't either," Jimmy admited after a moment, thinking quickly as to what he could possibly say to convince her. "But I didn't know what help you all were going to be when our super powers went awry, or when Goobot abducted me, or when he kidnapped our parents, but you've always come through! I need you _now_." Jimmy was internally mortified not only the slight tone of desperation there was in his final sentence, but at the odd interpritations her roommates could make of it if they could hear him through the door. Cindy still looked hesitant.

"So I'm supposed to just up and leave school?" She rubbed away the Minnisota-shaped blob as she held Jimmy with a piercing gaze; Jimmy recognized the spurt of fierceness in which she spoke and venomous stare as signs of a pre-caving. "What am I going to tell my other professors? 'I'm sorry, I have to go stop a floating pile of goop from taking over the world again'?"

Jimmy sighed in a mixture of relief and aggravation. In one breath, he said, "Don't worry, I've got it all taken care of. The school thinks you will be going back home for a 'family emergency' and will be away for an indefinite amount of time – "

"'Indefinite'. Oh, that sounds cheery…"

" – you've been excused from all work in the period of time you are absent, and they will let you pick up where you left off when you get back."

"And I'm supposed to recount this to my roommates?"

"No! Well, yes, but – " Jimmy's watch beeped as a message from Goddard was played across it, startling him so much he jumped nearly a foot in the air and renewing his sense of terrified panic. He was sure he must have looked quite the sight to Cindy. "Look, we've got to go _now!_ We don't have _time_ to tell them anything at the moment. Goobot may have already located your coordinates to this place, and you could be endangering them!" He jabbed a finger over Cindy's shoulder at the closed door behind her.

That condition finally occurred to her; she took a shuddering breath, opened the door, and said to her equally paint-splattered roommate, "Emily, I've got to be somewhere, like, yesterday. I'll call you if I get the chance, 'kay?"

Emily laughed and waved her yellow-coated paintbrush at Cindy. "What, dressed like that?"

"I know," Cindy groaned. Jimmy was amazed at her ability to keep the terror she had shown out of her voice. "Terribly important, you see. Don't have time to explain."

Emily smirked and looked over Cindy's shoulder, locking her chesnut gaze with Jimmy's blue one. He flushed brightly when she said, "Oh, I can see. No need to."

Cindy laughed. Jimmy didn't have enough control over his senses to scowl at her; Emily's scrutinizing looks were making him feel rather squirmy. "Tell Miles I took his shoes." Cindy backed up and closed the door as Emily waved her brush in farewell. Jimmy blinked in surprise at her.

"You have very trusting friends," he said. "How long have you known them?"

"Oh, about a month now," Cindy said airily as she walked to the end of the porch, producing a rubber band from one of her pockets and pulling her damp, curly hair back into a bun with it. "Emily and I accidentally took each others luggage from the baggage return area. If we hadn't met that way, I would have been living in student housing." She grimaced at the thought.

"A fate far worse than even Goobot could inflict upon us," Jimmy agreed, hurrying after her. He grabbed her right hand with his left and jerked her to the right, leading her down the street at a near jog, explaining in a hushed voice, "We're heading to my apartment now, but we can't stay there for long. I've already called Libby and asked her to explain things minimally to the others; through other arrangement, everyone will be gathered to a pre-planned rendezvous point. Most likely, they'll stay there, just to keep them – and the people they were living with – safe."

"And my fate?" Cindy inquired, stumbling slightly as Jimmy pulled her out of the way of a couple, who stared blatently and curiously as they passed. He caught her before she fell off the curb and into the street. "As of now," he said, speaking all the softer still, "undetermined."

Cindy gave as best a non-commital shrug as she could while Jimmy was still pulling her along by one arm. He slowed as they rounded the corner past the campus and looked around him carefully. Cindy looked around as well, turning blessedly quite and alert for a total of six seconds before whispering, "We look ridiculous."

"Nonsense," Jimmy hissed back, crossing the street at an angle and turning down another one with Cindy still in tow. "Plently of certifiably sane people walk around in lab coats and artisan's paint…"

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Jimmy," Cindy scolded.

Jimmy growled in impatience. "The scene we are making is the least of my concerns right n – naah, move!" Cindy looked very alarmed at Jimmy's jumpy exclamation and ill choice of vocabulary. She silently protested as he yanked her into a narrow alleyway and behind a large – and unfortunatly, smelly – dumpster.

It had been difficult thusfar for Jimmy to convince Cindy to believe him even with the trust they had for each other; she was impeccably stubborn and reluctant to move without solid proof, giving her a tendancy to miss certain things while she argued. Even she, however, in her rampageous funk, could not fail to notice the lack of feet on the stranger that passed by decked in a long trench coat with the collar turned up. She shivered and clutched Jimmy's arm very tightly; he winced as her nails dug into his skin through his coat sleeve.

"They're _following us_?" she gasped. Jimmy grimly crept from behind the dumpster and peered around the corner of the alley just in time to see the poorly-diguised Yolkian altere its course and turne down the street to its left. Cindy, who had not let go of his numbing arm, shuddered again.

"They've been patrolling the proximity of the coordinates they were able to gather before the chip was re-enabled, hoping to catch a glimps of our exact location," Jimmy explained, slowly taking the same direction as their stalker, much to the further horrification of Cindy. "Luckily, I seem to attract very stupid adversaries, so as long as we watch ourselves we'll be fine – oh, it's right here, keep your skin on!" He lead Cindy up the stairs of his apartment complex which had been two buildings down from their brief hiding place – or rather, Jimmy merely walked and Cindy, still clinging onto his arm relentlessly, followed. As quickly as he was able single-handedly, he shoved his key into the lock and twisted it open.

"I can't feel my fingers," he complained out of the corner of his mouth. Cindy lessened her grip on their mad dash for the open elevator. When the doors closed and Jimmy punched the button for his floor, she slid down the wall with a pitiful wimper. Even with her face in her hands, she was still very audiable when she cried out, "This is terrible!"

Jimmy cocked his head at her. "To tell you the truth, I actually like you better cocky and abrasive!"" He eased himself down next to her as she glared at him through her fingers. "Come on, it's not that bad. It could always be worse."

"Ha! Yeah, right." She pulled her knees up to her chin and picked at a loose thread on one of her socks. "Can you honestly think of something worse than being followed? Having your privacy invaded? And did you _have_ to live on the fourteenth floor?"

"Yes," he said simply, watching the indicator light click slowly over to the number eleven. Chaos-wrought Cindy was a new experience for him and one he was not keen on repeating it. "Just keep thinking about Emily, or whatever her name was," he said, failing at a consoling tone of voice. It seemed to work, though; she obviously had a close-knit bond with this unwitting luggage-thief. Cindy had fully composed herself by the time the doors slid open smoothly with a bright, annoying _ping! _

Even more annoying, though, was the person on the other side. Jimmy grabbed Cindy by the elbow and brushed past his overly-flirtatious neighbor Sky before she even had a chance to simper "Jimmy!" Cindy looked back curiously, but Jimmy had no need to; already he knew the brunette's bottom lip would be pouting out, hazel eyes narrowed, and quick imagination conjuring the most illogical rumor it could come up with on the spot.

"Friendly people around here," Cindy commented brightly. Jimmy scowled as he help his hand up to the scanner panel beside his apartment door, both at the suggestion her voice had held and the reasoning behind it. "They seem to be _flocking _to you. You get them here as_ well_ as school…shocking."

"What do you mean?" Jimmy asked as he closed the door behind them, curious in spite of better judgment. "Vox! Lights!"

"Lights on," the cool, female voice responded, and brightness at once flooded the room. Cindy looked around admiringly.

"Well, Emily's cousin, for example," she said, bending down and patting Goddard on the head as he came running up to her the second time that afternoon. "Elizabeth Sanders? One of my other rommates, she was my lab parter today – yes, you remember. If I recall, her first comments directed toward me were the curiosities she harbored for your dating resumé."

Jimmy was absolutly stupefied by this comment and had nothing to say that Cindy would have thought intelligent, so he kept his mouth shut and entered the swinging kitchen door on his immediate left. When he came back out, carrying the cordless extention of his telephone line, Cindy had stood with Goddard nesteled in her arms and was petting his absently as she continued to absorb her surroundings with interest.

"You sure pull out all the stops, don't you?" she said as more of a comment than a statement. Jimmy looked around, his eyes falling upon the over-stuffed, black leather couches, panaramic television set that Vox had considerately set on a local news channel, sleek traction lighting angled to splash onto the various pieces of artwork decorating his walls, and glass-topped coffe table with great disinterest.

"This isn't my doing," he said, punching in several numbers on the telephone's keypad. "One of my friends got ahold of my cheese-ray one day; in reconciliation for destroying what it used to be, he brought over an 'interior designer'. You should just see what they did to my kitchen – URGH!" He angrily aborted his call when it beeped at him in a particularly annoying pattern. "The ONE TIME I _don't _need a busy signal!"

"I wish I didn't need a busy signal only once in my life," Cindy commented thoughtfully and jealously. She flipped herself over the back of one of Jimmy's sofas and hung upside down, her legs dangling over the back. "It would be _fabulous_ for it to go through every other time."

"Oh, would you please be quiet!" Jimmy snapped, punching in the numbers again and holding it up to his ear, cursing silently when the beeping returned. Reeves popped up beside him, but Jimmy kept him silent by waving the arm that wasn't busy retyping the digits into the phone at him. Looking distinctly ruffled, the hologram marched over to Cindy in attempts to keep himself busy and needed.

"Excuse me, madame," he said sniffily. She looked up at him with a look of polite bordome. "Would you please refrain from placing your tastelessly-covered feet on the furniture?"

"They're not on it. See?" She extended her legs out from the knee to show that, indeed, her orange sneaker-clad feet were not touching the couch. "Ha! What now, Mr. Stuffy-Pants? Mleh!"

It was hard to tell which had offended Reeves more, the 'Mr. Stuffy-Pants' title or the tounge that had been stuck out at him afterwards. After throwing a look of deep disgust at every moving object in the room, Reeves vanished. Jimmy didn't think he had even seen him more disgruntled.

The teenage genius wasn't feeling too happy himself, though. After his call was unsuccessfully put through for the eighth time, he collapsed on the couch next to Cindy (limbs going the proper direction.) He watched his blonde guest pull the rubber band from her messy, make-shift bun and begin braiding her still-damp locks. A sweet but tangy scent wafted his way. He asked, "What is that?"

"Jasmine, aloe vera, and something with the word 'arnica' in it," Cindy answered, "a concotion of Emily's."

"_Arnica Montana_," Jimmy supplied, curious not only at the placement but how this Emily had gotten ahold of the increasingly-rare flower. "It's a curious plant, endemic to Europe, and grows in nutrient-poor meadows, marshes, or heaths, making it all the stranger that it's a remedial herb."

"Oh yeah," Cindy said anamnistically, still plaiting her hair. "I had some shoved down my throat – in a soft, dissolving tablet-form – when Sheen accidentally launched me off a trampoline two years ago. It made my sprained wrist go away so quickly, my doctor thought I was using illegal drugs."

Jimmy smiled. "That's its main purpose, though I've only ever used an infusion of the leaves externally, when I fell off a roof. But a cream or diluted tincture of it is often used to treat alopecia, you know."

"Supurb," came Cindy's scathing disparagment. "I'm all set, then, aren't I? Clever Emily, always thinking ahead, replaced everyone's shampoo with her 'safer' homemade stuff; evidently the risk of us getting scalp cancer from all those chemicals factories put in the store-brand kind was becoming too much for her."

His mood conciderably lightened in a surprisingly short space of time – over a ridiculously erratic topic – Jimmy chuckled. Cindy grinned and levered herself up to the proper sitting position.

"Do you keep clean towles in your bathroom, or is there some special place you rich genius' put them?" She walked around the back of the couch and down the short hallway that shared the same pathway as the entrance to the cozy apartment.

"In the linin closet, door straight ahead," he called back, puzzled. "Why?"

Cindy walked back into veiw, holding two large, fluffy bath towles to give him an aporetic look. "Jimmy, I'm a walking _Picasso_. This is no suitable way to save the world from an untimely demise." She turned and walked away again, tutting about his inopportune timing and lack of presentation. Jimmy grinned at her back until she turned into another room and out of sight, wondering when she had become so sarcastic yet light-heartedly effervescent. It was with a forlorn and irritated sigh that he turned back to the accursed telephone in his hands.

* * *

A/N: Do you know what I really hate? Unmarked containers in your refrigerater. Because then you are coddled by the little voices in your head into sticking your finger in ithe contents within and tasting them, and what _appears_ to be yummy cheesecake filling is in actuality _very_ disgusting mayonnaise. (This is remarkably irrelevant to the plot of this fic, but that is my Story/Complaint of the Day and I felt like sharing it.) 


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** Ahh, go stick a bean up your nose.

* * *

Cindy found Jimmy's bedroom not disappointing when compared to the rest of his residence, but it was in an entirly different way. Jimmy's holographic butler was obviously not allowed to maintain this room, because here there was actual proof that a life-source was making good use of the space: The four-poster bed was unmade, a tangle of sheets, a pale blue Afghan, and a thick, charcoal-gray duvet laying in a rumpled heap; nightstands on either side were littered with books and papers; clothing, both clean and dirty, littered the floor (Cindy grinned involuntarily as she steped over a pair of blue jeans); random tools were lying about and _something_ was in pieces on Jimmy's desk, obviously in wait to be repaired.

Along the wall opposite the large bed, a door stood, its right side flanked by an overly-crowded television stand, packed to the bursting point with the movie cassets and discs that would not fit on the shelves in Jimmy's living room. Walking through it the door, she discovered a small and surprisingly well-kempt bathroom, the clashing buttery-yellow wall colour, terra-cotta floor, and pale-green tiles encompassing the room in a decorative chair-rail and spilling onto the floor of the shower implied the dreaded interior designer had not been allowed past Jimmy's sleeping quarters. (By the half-finished looks of things in the room preivious, he obviously hadn't been allowed in their either and had been kicked out before the project could be finished.)

Disregarding the terrible decore, a misfortunate collection of owners past, Cindy picked through his organized drawers, cupboards, and medicine cabinet until suitable products to wash herself with were found. She felt rather guilty at the waste of water taking her second shower that day would be, but she simply couldn't go about covered in paint – and she had rubbed against something rather foul when she and Jimmy had been forced to turn into that alley way for cover. She turned the hot water tap and prised off her much-too-tight, (She blushed once more as her embarrassing appearance was made manifest.) paint-spattered clothing as the claustrophobic area filled with steam.

Cindy relished the first use of realsoap in over a month, mentally sluicing away the privacy violation she had felt when the unknown Yolkian had passed by, letting it carelessly slip down the drain with the paint. She perhaps got a bit over-excited; she created so much lather she had to leave the water running for an additional two minutes just to rinse all the suds down the drain. It was delicious, though, and the strong scent of musk and nutmeg was ineffable. She towled herself dry with the clean white terry-cloth she had abducted from Jimmy's linin closet before shamelessly raiding his dresser drawers. Out of the few things actually put in their proper place, there was a gray, over-the-head sweater and pair of unmatching jogging pants. As she seized them, she suddenly heard a voice coming from the other side of the door.

Jimmy. It seemed his call had gone through at last, to someone called Nicolette. He didn't sound to happy about it, though. As broken as her French was, the small bits Cindy was able to discern – as well as the acrimonious way he was shouting them – were enough to let her know his accomodations had not been met for something.

Cindy hesitantly cossed the threshhold of the rooms, feeling ridiculously like an eavesdropping intruder, and found Jimmy furiously pacing the floor, still ranting into the mouthpiece in fluid and rapid French. Unnoticed, she fell onto the couch again, catching the odd word of the one-sided argument.

…_terrible idea to even…your area…supposed to meet…rules…the stupid egg's fault!_

Cindy grinned at Goddard, who had hopped up onto her stomach and curled up contentedly; Cindy was just about ready to doze off herself and wished desperatly the "conversation" Jimmy was having with this myserious French-woman named Nicolette would end soon. Surprisingly, it did; Jimmy clicked the phone off after a parting adieu of "_Fixez-le, Nicolette!_" just seconds later and threw it away from him disgustedly.

"Fix what?" Cindy inquired, hanging her stockinged feet over the couch's arm again now that Jimmy's rampageous pacing had stopped. Jimmy jumped in surprise. He blinked at her and asked incredulously, "What are you wearing?"

"I asked first," she said calmly, though she was rather irritated that with all his talk of focusing on the problem at hand he would have the audacity to avoid such a simple question. She sat up, disturbing Goddard. "Fix what?"

Still seeming rather shocked at her wardrobe choice, Jimmy reluctantly said, "Nicolette was supposed to be working with Jet to have us transported to Paris."

"Fusion?" Cindy inturrupted curiously.

Jimmy nodded, his grim and disgusted expression returning. "Well, it seems that the two of them have found…ah, 'suitable reasons' for discontentment in their working situation." He paused to let out a low and furious growl. Cindy knew she wasn't helping his mood when she grinned and said, "Thay're having _daters' spats?_" incredulously, but she couldn't help it. Jimmy's frown deepened.

"That's what I've deduced," he growled. "During the fourteen hours since I last contacted them, they seem to have been able to botch everything from our pick-up to the actual form of transportation. We're just lucky I had a pre-set location for us to be taken to, elsewise we'd have been hitch-hiking to any random spot on the globe." Cindy let him fume for a few minutes more, knowing a limb might be at stake if she spoke too soon, even sacrificing a cushion of the love-seat she was occupying for him to squash himself onto furiously. She absently picked little bits of lint off his shoulder.

"I'm hungry," she suddenly announced some time later, her stomach giving an on-cue rumble as soon as the admission slid from her lips. "What time is it?"

Jimmy sat up guiltily, bringing his watch up to eye-level. "Late. I'm sorry. Reeves!"

It was with a noteable hesitance and reluctance that Reeves popped out of the floor and said morosely, "You called, sir?"

"Cindy is in need of a meal," he said standing once again and scuttling off down the short hall the back of the sofa extended from and in the door to the left, continuing, "I've _got_ to take care of this mess Nicolette has put us in. Take care of her, please. Vox, where is my cell phone!"

The cool female voice of his computer called after, "On your office desk, next to the keyboard." A muffled thanks was shot back. Cindy grinned up at the sullen-looking Reeves.

"Well, Alfred," she said cheerfully, putting her hands on her knees and standing, "I feel in the mood for some macaroni and cheese! How about you?"

Reeves looked rather appaled at the statement, both the incorrect name jab and cuisine choice appearing to be equally repugnant. Cindy knew it was only the expert programming the Jimmy had installed in the hologram that forced him to comply with Cindy's request. She praised Jimmy and his brillance fourteen minutes later when she was blissfully inhaling a large bowl of macaroni and cheese slathered in ketchup (much to the further repulsion of Reeves.) After finishing her own a short while later, she considerately brought another bowl – sans ketchup – to the fervently-working Jimmy, nearly loosing the connection her right ear had with her head to a flying book.

Jimmy, who had thrown it in pent-up frustration, started when he saw what it had almost collided with and exclaimed, "Cindy! I'm so sorry, I just – I – AURGH!" He fell back in the leather, high-backed chair that was stationed in front of the great oak desk that took up more than a quarter of the room.

Walking over and sitting on a corner of the desk, she asked, mildly amused, "Do you wig out like this often?"

"Oh, absolutely," he snapped sullenly, taking his hands out of his face, "because putting myself and every person I could have any humane amity for – adding in, of course, my miscarried attempts to protect them – has become an every-day habit that I just can't seem to break!"

"Just checking." Cindy shoved the container of now-cooled noodles into Jimmy's hands. "It's nice to know you care so much." Jimmy muttered something under his breath, but when Cindy asked what he had said, he brushed it off airily and said he needed to get back to work. She left the lightly cluttered office in predilection of the love-seat once more, contenting herself to flip through random television channels.

She finally settled on a documentary that was half-way through explaining the facinating sleep-patterns of llamas. The wheezy voice faded into the scrupulously accented one of Reeves, who had popped up next to Carl and asked if he would be needing any macaroni with ketchup before he went on his daily llama ride. Libby was feeding another of the creatures under a nearby tree, laughing as Sheen stretched out his neck and pranced around in a poor but hillarious immitation of the animal. Cindy herself was sitting on the park bench she had sought refuge on the day of her graduation, watching with a longing desire to join them.

When Jimmy appeared at her side as suddenly as his holographic sevant would have, she squealed in surprise… but she could not hear it. Neither could she hear the words Jimmy's mouth was forming. It was as though someone had pressed a pillow over her ears. She tried to tell Jimmy this, but her mouth wouldn't form proper words, and he couldn't hear any more than she could.

Jimmy stood, still talking, still inaudiable. He was smiling, but he looked so sad…so, so sad…He began to walk away; Cindy tried to rise and stop him, but her arms were so heavy. She couldn't lift them, and Jimmy was getting farther and father away.

Nick appeared, just as suddenly as Jimmy had, coming one step closer to Cindy with every step Jimmy went away. Cindy couldn't do anything. She was furiously immobile. She stumbled to her feet and ran as fast as she could, but she fell, and each time she tried to rise she would fall again. Half crawling, half dragging herself along, too weak to stand. She just wanted to lie down and go to sleep. Her mother had appeared at her side, though, yelling at her to get up and run… to go farther… to win…

Cindy's legs were scraping the ground, but she felt nothing. She could see her hands were ripped and torn, but pain was not present. She finally collapsed, all strength abandoning her. Her mother stood over her, shouting furiously.

"Get up!"

"I can't," Cindy moaned, but even as she spoke the words she attempted once more to rise to her knees, once more falling back onto the ground.

"Get up! Up, you stupid girl!" Her mother stabbed her in the side with a long stick. "Up! You are no quitter!"

"Ouch!" Cindy said softly, feebly trying to push the stick away, but her mother just poked harder. "Ow, stop it, that hurts!"

"Get up, then!"

"No," she moaned. "I can't – ouch, stop!"

"If misstress would simply be willing to wake herself, I would be only too happy to desist!"

Cindy's eyes snapped open. They took a moment to focus before she was able to discern the fuzzy form of Reeves in the surrounding darkness. "Are you alright, misstress?" (Even in the darkness, Cindy could tell his concern was not entirly genuine.)

"I'm fine, Wadsworth," she said, vocally and physically waving him off. Reeves gave as much of a snort as was possible for a hologram. He dissapeared with a snide mutter about "humans and their nocternal delusions".

Night had fallen and the lights had been extinguished, leaving nothing but the dark to press from all sides – in and out – of the apartment. The luminous face of a digital clock broke through the dark covering and showed the hour to be twenty-three minutes until midnight. Someone had thrown a blanket over Cindy when she had been sleeping; she hugged it tightly around her shoulders as the feeling of oppresion and watching eyes from within the smothering blackness came over her. She stood, shivering slightly, and felt her way around the back of the sofa and down the short hallway.

The door to her left opened with a slight creak. She peered in catiously and say Jimmy's form lying on the four-poster, only half-underneath the covers and rising and falling slightly with each breath. After carefully tip-toeing across the room, she whispered, _"Jimmy."_ When he didn't stir, she whispered "Jimmy" again and gave his shoulder a sharp poke.

Jimmy sat up with astounding speed, startling Cindy and spluttering, "Ahg! Who – what is – Cindy?"

Jimmy rubbed his eyes roughly, clearing the hazey fug of sleep from his senses. Cindy, suddenly feeling very stupid, said, "I'm sorry. Never mind, I just – " He caught her blanket-covered elbow as she turned away.

"No, what is it?" Enough moonlight flitered through the slats in the window blinds for Cindy to see that his blue eyes were alert and filled with concern. She grimaced.

"You'll laugh at me," she muttered, but nevertheless sat on the soft mattress by his feet.

"Most likely," Jimmy agreed, scooting closer to her. "Just tell me anyways."

Cindy sighed. "Well…I had a nightmare…about my mom."

Jimmy chuckled softly before saying, "That's understandable. The time we spent stuck in each others bodies was enough to give me reason to be considerably frightened… You seem to be well-off with her, though, even if she _wasn't_ the one that led you to be top in everything; not many fueding families have enough toleration to buy their child a Mustang."

"It's called a buy-off gift," Cindy sneered, glaring down at the bedspread and picking at a loose thread savagly. "'Please don't go, stay, we love the child-support money you bring in…' Real love all around." She faltered, one of Jimmy's comments registering belatedly. "What did you say?"

Jimmy gave her a confused look. "About what?"

"My _speech!"_ she exclaimed, going red.

_Good gravey,_ she thought,_ it's bad enough I even_ said_ that about him, but…_

"You _heard it!"_

Jimmy looked startled, then nervous. "Well… yeah. Why? Is that so bad?"

"'_Is that so_ _bad!'_" Cindy squeaked, quite beside herself and blushing furiously. "I don't – I can't believe – _how?"_

Jimmy had become very interested with the thread that Cindy had pulled out of his comforter. He played with it until Cindy had bored a hole through the top of his head with a peircing stare. He looked up, nervously folding his arms across his bare chest, as thought to protect himself against an inevitable attack.

"Well…" he stammered, beginning to flush as brightly as Cindy, "I was… ah, there, you see, I flew out just before and left right after…"

"And Libby knew," Cindy muttered to herself. "I'll _kill_ her next time I see her, I swear I will!"

"Not on my account, please," Jimmy said, relieved that she had decided to effect her wrath towards her best friend instead of him.

"Oh, it won't be," Cindy sighed, poking at a small hole in the blanket wrapped tightly about her. She absentmindedly noted it was the blue Afghan she had seen occupying the corner of Jimmy's unkempt bed earilier that day. "I'm just so tired of things being kept from me; it'll be collective fury that murders her." A sudden thought popping into her head, she asked, "How do you know Nicolette?"

Jimmy snorted. He scratched his jawbone, looking rather bitter for one who was reminiscing. "Ahh, where to start…"

"The beginning is usually best," Cindy supplied, pulling her legs up to sit Indian style.

"In that case, the blame would once again lie with the government… NASA, actually," Jimmy said. "After they bought my electromagnet, my parents draged me along on a celebratory vacation to France."

"Oh, poor pitiful you," Cindy couldn't help inserting.

"You were the one who asked," Jimmy scowled. "Anyways, it was a couple days into our trip and we were in Paris. My parents left me on my own for a while to do some sight-seeing – "

"A dangerous thought!"

" – so I was sitting outside some café, finishing up the final modifications for Goddard's self-defence update, when some girl came over and started gushing on me." He pulled a wry face, as thought he had smelt something really foul, and imitated in a very high voice, _"Ooh, Monsieur_ _Nuetron! C'est un tel plaisir de vous rencontrer!_ As all stupid girls seem to manage, she made a mess of things, in this case by knocking my drink onto Goddard. He went absolutly berserk. Nicolette managed to pull off another Timmy episode with simple tea."

Cindy winced, remembering only too well the mass destruction Timmy Turner had caused when he unintentionally installed a violent program into Goddard's hard drive—and feeling a small pang of betrayal that she still used her friend's naïve mistake as a definitory term. It was bad enough when they were kids; she was supposed to be an audult now.

"It wasn't pretty," Jimmy confirmed, shaking his head. "She turned out to be a prestigious member of the science academy there, so she was able to smooth the whole thing over. Aside from the fact that she owed me _big_, I only risked letting her help because Jet and B.T.S.O. agreed to assist her." He broke off, obviously too distressed to continue.

"Why do you keep calling her a girl?" Cindy asked. "How old is she?"

Jimmy, who had been chewing his tongue, looked thoughtful. "You know, I'm not really sure; I never thought to ask. In her twenties, as the very least, but – "

He stopped and cocked his head to one side. Cindy strained her ears and heard it the second time: a soft knock on Jimmy's front door.

Jimmy swallowed and glanced at the lit clock on his bedside table just in time to see the time click over another minute. Midnight dead on. The stranger at the door knocked again, louder this time.

Jimmy slid awkwardly from beneath the covers and snatched up a pair of jeans. He tried to yank them on and exit his bedroom at the same time all in a rush, making him stumble several times, bump his shoulder painfully into the tall footpost of his bed, and finally fall flat on his face. Cindy would have found this all hillarious had the knocking at the front door become increasingly louder and her anxiety risen to a climatic pitch.

By the time Jimmy successfully crossed threshholds, the stranger was practically pounding on the door, threatening to break it loose from the withholding hinges. Cindy carefully, silently threw off her blanket and crept off the bed, reaching the bedroom door just as Jimmy did the outer one. She listened, horrified, to the soft clatters of the saftey chain as it was slid back, the muted _click! _of the deadbolt disengaging, and Jimmy exclaiming, "Just what do you – wait. No, _don_ – AUGH!"

* * *

A/N: I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting so long, but I've been away from home for the past two weeks, first at a youth retreat for my church and, after a 42-hour pit-stop at home (where I was blissfully able to read the new Harry Potter book during the first 11, AHH!), I left for Girl's Camp. (I don't recommend blocking them in like that, by the way. When they say "lights out" at 11, they didn't account for talkative roommates and the party-animals you are ment to share your cabin with who carry on in the dark.)

Aside from extreme sleep deprivation, I've been really anxious to write and hear from all my readers again. However irresponsible it would be of me, I would like to blame the average 4 hours of sleep each night and the deranged condition reppelling left me in for the very questionable state this portion of my story is in. (Especially the cheesy ending. I hope the final line won't seem so bad when it can be properly defended next chapter.)


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** Pink things are icky…like peas. Fortunatly, my story is not pink. Nor is it entirly of my own creation; Jimmy, Cindy, Jet, ect. belong to the fantastic makers of the "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" show.

A/N: So…what think ye of my new name? Nomia was a Greek Naiad – a nymph mainly associated with brooks, steams and rivers. Naiads are known to exhibit extremly jealous tendencies (not at all unlike the ones I harbour towards my superior fellow writers. 0-0) I was the lover of Daphnis, son of Hermes, shepard, flautist, and inventor of pastoral poetry. The slimey creep was unfaithful, though, (but what else is new about Greek mythological characters?) so I blinded him permanantly. Hah! Plus, the Nomian Mountains are named after me. Wicked, eh? But I digress. On to the story!

* * *

Cindy whipped around the corner, expecting to find the worst. She was – when put mildly – shocked to see Tee the Space Bandit just inside the wide-open door and squeezing the breath out of Jimmy in what looked like an incredibley painful hug. 

"Dang, Jimmy! Been almost two months! What's up with that, man? And – " he finally noticed Cindy and looked over at her in growing shock " – what's up with _this?_ You havin' some sort of slumber party without me? Hold on a sec…"

Tee released Jimmy – who fell uncerimoniously into a heap on the floor – as he took a step closer to Cindy, who nervously prepared herself to flee. Tee let out a loud laugh in recognition. "Hah! No way! Little Cindy? Haha! How y'been, foo'!"

Cindy took up the proffered high-five, throroughly relieved she would be keeping her ribs intact and unbruised, giggling at Tee's ever-amusing way of speaking. Jimmy was not as amused. He had managed to scramble up and shut his front door; he rounded on Tee furiously.

"What the heck did you think you were doing?" he growled. Tee looked confused.

"Picking you up, just like you and Jet told me to do," he shrugged.

"Was it absolutly _nessesary_ to _blast_ my door off the restraining hinges!" Jimmy snarled, teeth clenched and look murderous. It seemed to be taking him a great deal of energy to keep his voice at a quiet level. "I'm sure it must be infuriating for you to continually come in contact with objects smarter than yourself, but I'm afraid I've become rather attatched to my door as a _whole_ unit! Could you perhaps contain yourself! I wouldn't be surprised if you woke up half the town!"

Tee took a great, swelling breath and puffed out his chest, poking a finger in Jimmy's face. "Don't you talk to me like that, foo'! I did 'xactly like you said: midnight your time! I was makin' sure you heard me, man, so don' give me none of that!"

Jimmy sighed – though it came out more like a snort – and walked around the accusitory finger towards his bedroom. Cindy, who was determindly chewing on the insides of her cheeks, tried to ignore the looks he shot her as he passed. She couldn't apply the same sense to sharper detail the lit living room gave his bare torso as her eyes seemed to be involuntarily trailing down it to his narrow waist and –

Cindy physically jumped back, horrified. She whipped around and found sufficent distraction in Tee, who had pulled out a small box from his pocket and pressed a button on it. It unfolded itself a second later into a doorway – and Cindy could see a small cottage with a well-kempt yard, complete with white picket fence and bird bath, just on the other side! Jimmy didn't think pathways to other countries popping up instantly in his living room to be all that surprising, though, because when he entered the room again --blessedly --with a shirt on, bag slung over one sholder, and Goddard at his heels, he said grumpily, "Let's go."

Goddard came bounding forward first, jumping across the threshhold with a mechanical bark, and set at once to scaring off all the birds that were taking an early-morning dip in the stone basin. The only thing suggesting Goddard had lept hundreds of miles was a faint lavender shimmer that appeared when the section he had gone through pulled slightly, like he was walking through a gluey sheet, before it slid back into place, still and transparent.

"My 'Portable Portal 1600'," Jimmy offered in explantion, handing Cindy her borrowed shoes and stepping forward. "Rather handy. I lent it to Jet when he went to meet Nicolette. Completely safe and will take you anywhere in the universe, so long as it's chartered or I've programed it in."

"What happened to the other 1,599?" Cindy asked as she yanked the sneakers onto her feet, unable to resist the temptation. Jimmy stuck his tounge out at her. Still entirly facinated and curious at the strange, lavender barrier, though, she asked, "What's it feel like?"

"Really cool,"Jimmy submitted with a shrug and a smirl. He grabbed her left hand in his right and plunged them both in, proving his word.

It felt like a liquid cobweb, snagging and pulling gently at her hand and wrist as she moved it back and forth. The strange substance flowed over and around her, clinging to her form like a glove. It was an odd sensation for her fingers to be exposed to the crisp, morning air while half of her hand remained comfortably neutral in the apartment. She retracted her hand and the barrier converted back to its transparent stage.

"Cool."

Jimmy grinned lopsidedly and walked through. Cindy followed when Tee urged her on. After the space bandit finished off their procession, he pressed a small blue button on the control panel and it folded itself into a small box once more; he threw it to Jimmy. Jimmy cought it one-handedly as he greeted the person exiting the cottage door, "Morning, Jet."

"Hey, Jim!" Jet said, unlatching the gate of the picket fence and swinging it open. He veiwed Cindy with a bit of curiosity as she passed by, but he was jovial enough as he said, "How've you been?"

"Sleep deprived," Jimmy said after a long yawn.

"Understandable," Jet said. "Scrambling for aid and setting up a hide-out/base in a crisis can be draining when you do it in less than 48 hours." Jimmy yawned again in agreement and held a hair up to small DNA scanner that was where a doorbell would have normally been, the only thing out of place in the picturesque setting.

"It's been murder putting in those over-ride codes," Jet confided to Cindy as Jimmy pushed the door open and stumbled through. "Our boy Jim really knows his stuff! I'm sorry, but I never really did catch your name…?"

"Probably because it hasn't been said yet," Cindy put in politly, but she added, "I'm Cindy Vortex."

Jet's confusion evaporated and was replaced by astomnishment for a second or two. "Oh, yeah, I remember you. Thought those eyes were familiar. Your friend Libby's been talking non-stop about you, too."

"She's here?" Cindy interjected excitedly. They had all entered the cottage and the door had been closed behind them, cutting off the soft morning light from the slightly-cramped sitting room. "Where – "

Before she could say anything else, though, a cool female voice that seemed to be coming from all around them said, "Welcome back, Jimmy. Transport to lab?"

Jimmy stifled another yawn to say, "Yes, thank you Vox."

"You're welcome," Vox responded. There was a short series of clicking sounds and the fireplace on the wall opposite the door they entered folded away to the sides, revealing a large, metal shoot. Jimmy grabbed the bar above it, swung his legs into the hole in the wall, and shot out of sight. Entering Jimmy's lab seemed to be some sort of sport to Jet and Tee, for they both followed with a deal more enthusiasm. Cindy tried to lower herself down carefully, but she inevitably gained speed in her journey, and because she did not know how long of one it was to be, she ungracfully tumbled out the end and fell forward at the feet of –

"Libs!" Cindy embraced her best friend after she had been helped to her feet.

"Oooh, Cin, I've missed you so much! We've been away too long! I don't like college any more, I can't talk to you! I'm just going to quit and sell jam on the side of the road, and – " she stopped, for she had held Cindy out at arms' length to get a good look at her. "What are you wearing?"

"Important matters first," Cindy said firmly, glaring at her friend. "You are _not_ , by_ any means_, going to sell jam on the side of the road. You can just learn to stick it out and call me more often. …Miles' shoes and Jimmy's sweats."

Libby put her hands on her hips and fixed her friend with the look that was all to familiar – and recently missed – to Cindy. "And that's not qualified as 'important'?" Libby scoffed.

"Not as important as you becoming a jam-selling bum," Cindy scoffed back. "Especially since _you_ are wearing one of _Sheen's_ shirts…unless you've recently become obsessed with Ultra Lord…?" Libby looked down at herself and blushed, only able to offer a deafeated, "Yeah, well…"

"Come on," she said to Cindy, steering her towards a long rectangular table, laden with food, where a good half a dozen people were already seated. "We we just about to have breakfast."

Before Cindy could even ask who was included in this "we", Libby began to explain as they took two seats at one end of the table. "This is a wing of Jimmy's lab, but he's temporarily turned it into a hide-out for all of us. That big guy at the other end, he's the head of B.T.S.O., and the British guy next to him that he's talking to is one of his agents, Francis. They came with Jet – there he is, and the girl he sat next to is Nicolette. That guy with the awesome dreads is Daniel; he works for N.A.S.A. and has been helping to get us all here. He says he and Jimmy worked together on some Mars mission, so they must be real good friends. Tee we know, Carl an' Sheen, obviously, parentals 'n' such – oh."

"Oh" was right. Cindy sacrificed energy enough to throw a single, furious glare at her mother before turning to face Jimmy, who had just taken the seat to the left of Cindy, and not giving her another thought nor glance.

"I swear I didn't know," he murmered apologetically in her ear, "or else I would have let her get eaten." Cindy grinned, the mental image he gave her of her mother and Poultra gratification enough. After a few moments of semi-silent eating, Jimmy stood; the chatter died away.

"You've all been explain the situation we are facing," he said, eyes burning angrily even though his voice remained calm. "At least, as much as you need to know. There are …matters that I need to settle, and I am travling to finish this mess with the Yolkians." As though on cue, Daniel stood and exited through a narrow arched door. Jimmy continued as he walked. "It was for your saftey that you were brought here, but in precisely – " he consulted his watch " – thirty-six hours, the patroling Yolkians will have left their posts to return to theeir home planet on orders of their King, and Daniel will safely escort you back to your homes."

He nodded to them and turned away; the rest of the company continued with their meal, but Cindy quickly stood and followed Jimmy through the same archway Daniel had dissapeared through a moment before. Jimmy whipped around when the door closed behind Cindy, sensing correctly that he had been followed. Cindy crossed her arms over her chest and fixed him with a firce glare.

"Would you care to answer my questions willingly?" she asked as Jimmy, who fidgeted on the spot. "Or am I going to have to force them out of you?"

Jimmy opened his mouth but shut it quickly when Libby, Sheen, and Carl traipsed into the room, looking like they were about to demand the same thing. Jimmy sighed in defeat and gestured for them to follow him through another partitioning door and into the chamber that held his spaceship. Daniel was in the room as well, monitoring a panel board and checking things off a list on a clipboard in his hand. He waved to Jimmy and flashed him the thumbs-up signal. Jimmy waved back wearily as he walked up the loading ramp and into the ship.

Sheen, who had been uncharacteristically silent in the gloomy setting, immeadiatly set to matters in order of importance, claiming his usual seat and setting it instantly on vibration mode being the top item on his mental list. "W-w-w-i-i-i-i-i-i-c-k-k-e-e-e-e-d-d!"

Jimmy collapsed onto the soft, cushioned bench opposite his neurotic friend. Cindy could tell the exhausting was sinking in; the soffocatingly morbid mood that blanketed the entire house seemed to have drained the remaining strength from him. Cindy felt a wave of pity towards her once-foe.

"This is just a transport," Jimmy said, closing the mouths that had indignantly opened. "My Strato XL is in the storage hold; Daniel and the others will be flying me to the satalite, and after I fix that they will be dropping me off at the moon. From there, I go on alone."

"Just what did you do to the satalite?" Libby demended. Jimmy grimaced.

"Well…" he rubbed the back of his head. "I maybe sorta …_fried_ a couple of things. My watch kept picking up these weird readings, so I, er…sent a virus out to anything that gave me input."

Libby's face found her hands; Cindy's jaw went limp. "You sent a …Jimmy, what possessed you?"

"It was just a minor one, I can fix it!" Jimmy looked aprehensive at the prospect, though. Cindy had to chew on her cheek again to keep from smiling. "Anyways, I just want to say thanks."

"Uhh, for what Jim?" Carl scratched his head. "We didn't really do any…thing…and we won't be…" He looked fearful. "Will we!"

"No, Carl," Jimmy assured him gently. "I'm just thanking you all for …well, just being there. For being you. It means everything to me." The small smile that had been flitting across his features dropped into a pensive frown after he had half-whispered his last sentence and he stared broodingly at the floor. Sheen, who was obviously vibrating to much to notice the sudden and strange change in his friend's mood, said, "N-no p-prob-b-lem-m-mo-o!"

Jimmy's smile returned again, ten-fold what it had been before, and he pulled them all off their seats and into an enormous five-personed hug. "You guys are the best."

"Aww, we know that!" Carl said, adjusting his glasses when Jimmy finally released them.

Daniel poked his head in. He said in a permanently alert and chipper voice, "It's all set, Jimmy. Ready whenever you are."

"Thanks, Danny," Jimmy said. Daniel grinned lopsidedly, and Cindy could help but think he looked more like a rock star than a prestigeous N.A.S.A. employee, from his waist-long dreadlocks to his snake-skin belt and all the way down to his feet, clad in Converse sneakers exactly like the ones Cindy was wearing, except that his were bright purple.

"You attract weird friends," Cindy informed Jimmy needlessly.

"I've noticed," he admitted. "But it's too late to stop it now; nobody will leave me alone."

"Darn right," Libby said sharply, sounding like she had made a decision for all of them that was not to be argueed with. She didn't hold out on the details for long: "We're coming with you."

Jimmy looked like he _was_ about to protest; Cindy punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Come on, Neutron, one last adventure. And it's just a transport, right?"

Carl was dancing on the spot, looking torn between joviality and apprehension. Sheen's left eye had already begun to twitch in excitement. Libby had folded her arms and set Jimmy with a glare, informing him she wouldn't be leaving the ship even if someone tried to drag her off. Jimmy sighed again, but smiled.

"All right," he said, "let's go."

* * *

A/N: I think this is the worst update I've ever written; I should be stoned for even putting it up and it will most likely be ripped down at a later time. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't _feel _it! I felt the next chapter, though (it's already half-finished) and it will be – hopefully – much better than this one. A lot faster-paced, too; I need to pick up some slack, because the deeper I go into this, the more I realize it's going to be insanly long. To those with weak constitutions, hearts, back problems, kidney failure, fainting problems, or those who have had past problems with typers/writers' cramp, lack of attention, or OCD, I strongly advise you to leave my story now while you still have the chance. 

**pokey:** I'm rather devious like that, yes. But since you seem to love my work so much, I know you will forgive me. I hate dreams like that as well; I've had this ever-reoccuring one of my friends and I being chased over a golf course while in a train handcart by animated teachers…but I don't think you would really care about that, so never mind.  
**Arein: **Well, I sincerely congratulate you! Yay for 8/9! And I've thought long and hard about your decision and sincerely hope it is the latter that you have decided. (And as for Jimmy's foes being dense…well, I'm afraid I don't know the answer. They just…ARE.)  
**Angela Jewell: **Thanks so much again, and good call on the hugging! You were almost there with the hugger. And, as foolish as I made Jimmy out to be by opening the door without calling out first, I'd like to redeem him by saying he knew exactly who it was. I would never do anything to get our hero killed!  
**The Opal Fariy: **Eh, bygones. I'm glad you like it – and hope you still do after this atrocious excuse of an update – but I'm afraid I can't do anything about your want for a holo-butler. That's Jimmy's area of business.  
**Readrbug21:** Pff, we didn't even have boys at our camp! Strictly for our young women. Ehh, it was fun anyways. Just like Cindy and Reeves! Yay, fun! Lol, glad you liked it, and thanks for the review!  
**humblelion717: **Muaha, that's right! Thanks so much!  
**Elynsynos 18: **Aww, too kind! I hope you still feel the way after _that_ disaster!  
**Flower Powerer:** Meh, I doubt it's the first one. I'm just like you with the second one, though, and I hate it! Anyways, thanks for the review!  
**And FOREVER: **Medahaha… So excited for this chapter, eh? Well, maybe I'm being to hard on myself again. Maybe it ISN'T that horrendous. Thoughts? Thanks again!  
**Phantomhobbitses: **Heehee, I know. What did the poor hologram do to deserve Cindy? Thanks for the review!  
**Barlee: **Oh, it was muchos of fun! Lots of hott guys! Lol, but that's beside the point. I hope I'm not building up too much; I feel already like hitting myself over the head for not being able to cut things anymore. It's coming, though, I swear! Just like more Jimmy/Cindy-ness, though I'm glad you liked it all in the last chapter; her putting on his clothes was just irresistible! I'm afraid I know less French than a rubber duck; I'm glad you didn't know enough to call me off on it, but that's the basic gist of what I was saying there. (Well, my friend said it for me. I'm a Spanish gringo myself.) The dream and bedroom scene (oh, that sounded bad!) I put in at the last minute and on a pure whim. I'm really happy you found them up to form! I'm really sorry to keep breaking your heart with my lack of updates, and I hope I didn't kill you with the inadequacy here, but I gave it a shot. Here's to better chapters in the future, eh?  
**Hermione Granger63:** I thank you with all my heart for your understanding. I bow to you! Tahnks again!  
**Numbah 1JimmyFan: **0-0 I had no idea! Weird…just know whatever I may portray my Nicolette to be is not at all what I think of you!  
**WeAsLeYkid8: **I don't really know, actually. One of my friends LOVES it and thinks I'm insane to eat it without. I'm going to just take her word for it and not try any. And of COURSE your reviews help; I love them! Thanks so much!  
**coughdrop101: **Aww, thanks! And yes, that is true, but Cindy and Jimmy aren't dating. They are working together to pull through a crisis and ultimatly save the world from impending doom. Again.  
**MagicV: **Lol, hope the wait was worth it! Many thanks!  
**Kyuugi (and Iisha, apparently): **I'm glad to see you are enjoying it. Thank you so much! I'm afraid I've read too many child-based stories as well, and I'm glad you've found my fic to be a breather from those! I hope you stick around!  
**Mahogany2250: **Bah, corney, I know. It's dreadful stuff. I'm glad I could bring you a laugh or two and hope to bring you a few more before I finish…in a few years…


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** You thought I was going to forget it this time, huh? Well, poo on you! I don't own it.

A/N: That's right, I'm back with another good dose of torture for you. May you endure to the end.

* * *

Cindy had long since lost herself in her own thoughts as she sat staring out a large window, watching the stars go by and hugging a cushion to herself. Jimmy experienced a strange sense of deja vu when Francis, the overly-enthusiastic assistant of Commander Baker, walked up and sat down in front of her. Jimmy continued to pretend to read the open book he was holding, anxious to see how Cindy would deal with the pompous supervisor. (It was become a bit of a treat. Other than the disposal of Cody, he had already had the immense enjoyment of watching her snap and deliver a punch to Nicolette's left eye when Nicolette had the audacity to ask whether Jimmy – who was eavsesdropping, unnoticed by either woman – was as quick to make a move on Cindy as he had been on herself.) 

"Hello!" he chirped. "I'm afraid we didn't have the chance to be properly introduced yet. I'm Francis, and what is your name?"

Cindy didn't look at all in a mood to create small-talk, but she nevertheless answered cooly, "Vortex."

The young B.T.S.O. member looked detered for a moment, but doggedly pressed on in his attempts at socializing. He smiled stupidly. "Like the disaster," he said with a small, airy chuckle. "You're parents must have had a sense of humor…"

Cindy's lip curled slightly. "Not really."

Fancis' smile flickered. "Oh. Well, I …I mean, Vortex…"

" – would be a surname." Cindy finished, adopting the tone one would use when explaining something to a young – and very stupid – child.

"Oh." Her young wooer blinked a few times in perplexity. "I thought – "

"Really?" Jimmy was surprised she had been able to keep the sneer out of her voice thus far; it must have been taking her a lot of self-control. "Listen, Frankie – "

"Oh, it's, uh, Francis!" Francis said brightly, turning slightly so Cindy could see the rectangular plastic card that was pinned to his chest. Cindy stared at it disbelievingly. She had maintained thus far and continued on in a sofisticated composer that Jimmy knew to be a warning sign but Francis naively believed to be a break-through.

"Right, right, Fran-snot." (She paused to collect her thoughts, giving Jimmy a chance to snort into his hand.) "I'm going to give you a highly-advised suggestion, even though my exposure to your species and their abysmal mental density tells me it will only be by some miracle of God that you listen: don't talk to me. Like, at all. Ever."

Cindy's face remained blank as she watched Francis try to work up enough presentation to falteringly half-smile before getting up and walking abjectly and stiffly away. Jimmy had doubled up in is seat, bringing his knees to his chest and trying to hide behind his open book, red in the face from contained laughter. It was so nice to see someone else insulted and blown off by Cindy; it made for a nice change.

Commander Baker, who was sitting a few feet away from Jimmy, asked concernedly, "You all right there, Agent Neutron?" Jimmy emerged from the book, hoping he looked more composed than he felt.

"I'm fine," he said, glancing across the ship at Cindy who had once again turned her attention to the stars beyond her window. "I just…read something funny."

As his good fortune had it, the ship began to slow and Vox's voice rang through: "Now landing on desert asteroid B-918. Preparing to unload cargo."

Jimmy stood to file out with the small party, but Cindy caught his eye – the look on her face was a sure sign his death was nearer than he thought. She skated over to walk beside him and hissed, "Is it your life-long goal to purposely land me with the most painfuly idiotic people on this – or any other – planet! I swear Nicolette was about to lose part of that pretty little face of hers; I don't think I've ever had a longer conversation about shampoo!"

"Was that before or after the black eye?" Jimmy choked out through a laugh. "And the Francis thing wasn't my fault, and if you continue to claim it was, I will be forced to take drastic measures."

Cindy gave a dubious snort. "Like what? _Boring _me to death with the 400 uses for phosphate?"

Jimmy made a scathing noise in the back of his throat as he paused to wait for Tee and Carl to pass through the door in front of them. "You'd be surprised at how much better I've gotten at arm wrestling…"

Cindy, obviously noticing the look he had thrown back at the bench in the middle of the space car, threw an arm around his neck as they started walking again and pulled him down; he grinned as she whispered into his ear, "Forget it, Citrus Boy. Orange is _so _not your color…"

* * *

"Guys, there's no need to look like you're at my funeral!" 

Jimmy was exasperated beyond all reason. He knew bringing his friends along for the ride would result in this, but he wanted their company so dearly he hadn't been thinking properly when he agreed to it. They were all currently staring at him with ranging degrees of sorrow.

"Might as well be," Libby muttered. "Jimmy, we all know what Goobot's capable of; how do you plan to do this on your own?"

Jimmy chewed on his lower lip and glanced at Cindy, who shrugged. "I'm not; Cindy's coming with me."

He had taken Cindy aside just before taking off and asked her just what she was willing to risk for the saftey of everyone, failing miserably at trying not to sound like some cheese-coated corn-ball; nevertheless, "everything" had been her defiant and immediate answer. (Her only request was she obtain some of her own clothing before they set off; Goddard consented to teleport to her apartment and fetch some for her, returning with a fear for Cindy's fawning roommates, who aparently thought a mechanical dog to be a "cutei-pie".) Jimmy hadn't been lying when he'd turned up on her doorstep and said he needed her help. Cindy made it very clear now that she was willing to give it and consented to come along.

Jimmy hadn't, however, relayed this to any of the others yet. Their shock was rather humorous. Libby opened her mouth again, ready to work up another argument, but Cindy linked elbows with her and pulled her away from the rest of the group, saying, "Come, my uneducated friend, and let me fill your mind with wisdom."

Jimmy wished she had taken Carl and Sheen along and worked her amazing skills at convicing on them as well. But she hadn't, so he was forced to face them alone and defenseless. With his eyes averted to the ground and one hand running nervously through his hair, he said guiltily, "Look, I hope you guys understand, but…"

"That's okay, Jim," Carl interjected quickly, sounding thoroughly relieved. "We know Cindy is far more capable than the pair of us in a lot of aspects, especially when it comes to kicking alien butt."

Sheen grinned broadly at Jimmy, who grinned back. "Besides the butt-kicking skills," Sheen said, winking knowingly and throwing an arm around Jimmy's shoulders, "it gives you another open shot with _la muchcha de_ _tus sueños_!"

Jimmy ducked from beneath Sheen's arm, flushing – and with a bit more than anger. "Sheen, I'd advise you not to say that again if you are satisfied with the current physical condition you are in."

He never needed to wreak revenge Cindy style, though, because Cindy herself walked up with a happier Libby in tow. The former gave a stasfactory sigh and said, "Well, let's get going!"

And so final goodbyes were said, hugs were given, wishes of good fortune spread for the travelers of each separate journey, and another wink was thrown from Sheen. Cindy asked Jimmy what he was growling at as they settled themselves into his Strato XL with Goddard, and since he found himself unable to find an answer that would not embarrass himself further, he settled for some indistinctive muttering, mostly random curses aimed toward Sheen. Cindy was irepressibly distracted, though, and accepted the lack of proper answer indifferently, once again turning her thoughts to the stars.

For some reason, this irked Jimmy. He found himself repeatedly turning his head to watch her with a strange mixture of curiosity and forboding. Cindy only moved twice during the entire trip: the first to adjust her position, the second to clutch Jimmy's seat for dear life when he had been staring at her – once again – but for too long and had to swerve suddenly to avoid hitting a small meteoroid.

"Eight years, and you _still_ havn't mastered the concept of driving?" Cindy scoffed, one hand still gripping his shoulder rather tightly. (He felt uncomfortably warm.) "Geeze, Neutron, how much longer until I can risk a breath?"

Jimmy grumbled under his breath, glancing down at the lit control panel to check their coordinates. "Don't you know by now the moon is in quadrant – "

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Cindy interrupted, waving an impatient hand and finally – _blessedly – _removing her other from his shoulder. "Could you just get us there without _killing_ us? I think Goobot really had his heart set on that, and I'd hate to rob him of the opportunity…"

Jimmy fell silent, as did Cindy. They both remained that way, lost in deep thought, as Jimmy landed the Strato, helped Cindy exit, and began unloading supplies from his hypercube. Finally, when the horrible feeling in his gut had nearly doubled in intensity, he burst out, "You shouldn't think like that."

Cindy, who had just taken her backpack from him, stopped and stared. She grinned after a silent moment or two of this. "Oh, just ignore me. My roommate and I were disscussing a bit of fine-print about God a few nights ago, and I'm afraid it's gone straight to my pessimism."

"I wouldn't think your painting friend would be one to start a conversation like that," Jimmy commented, pulling out a sleeping bag for her and unrolling it out by her pack. "She's seemed to be moreof a … agriculturally depending person."

Cindy laughed. Jimmy realized how much he missed that sound. "No, not Emily… and it _is _okay to say 'hippie', you know…No, I'm talking about Miles. The one whose sneakers I stole?"

Jimmy glanced at her feet, as though the vivid orange color would ever have slipped his mind. _Miles…_Perhaps it had been the extreme pressure and anxiety he had been feeling upon the short exchange at Cindy's shared apartment, but something that had gone over-looked finally clicked into place. "Miles is a boy's name."

"Yeah, he's Emily's brother; we share his place." Cindy seemed unabashed at this and was carefully picking moon rocks near her sleeping bag up and chucking them away with no regards what-so-ever to what she had said and the terrible, crushing impact it could have upon Jimmy.

Jimmy was outraged, of course. The thought of Cindy – his innocent Cindy! – in the vulnerable hands of some strange boy! It made his blood boil. He needed to know who had put her up to this, because Cindy – _his _Cindy! – certainly wouldn't have lost all common sense and agreed to such an atrocious idea on her own. He expressed his thoughts: "You live with a _boy!_"

Cindy blinked at him. "It's amazing it took NASA sixteen years to recognize you. With an I.Q. like that… well, I'm just shocked the Universities weren't flocking to you in kindergarten!"

He scoffed, both at Cindy and his poor choice of words. "Well… I just never… thought you'd, heh, actually _do _some – "

"You're adorable, do you know?" She plopped herself down next to her bag, unzipping it and pulling out a thick notebook. "I'm all grown up now, Jimmy, and as cute as the 'caring big brother' bit is, I really don't need it – especially since we are in the middle of something much deeper than co-ed living quarters right now."

Jimmy, by no means, wished to leave the conversation (if one could call it that) standing, as he was still enraged at the prospect of Cindy living in the same enclosed proximity of some other male, but she had made it painfully clear the topic was closed, even managing to mortify him with the "big brother" lable at the same time.

He continued unpacking, taking out some of his excess frustration on his own sleeping bag by ripping the ties loose with a bit more force than was necessary, and he threw some well-chosen words after every rock he kicked and scuffed away from his pack. He threw himself onto the ground, seething internally, and lay on his back.

"You've met him."

Jimmy, who had been fuming almost-silently for a whole minute, jumped when Cindy spoke again. "Oh really?" he said, not entirely caring. "When?"

"In the gym," she said, scribbling something out on the notebook that was on one knee and underlineing something in a book resting on the other. "I was beating the snot out of him."

Jimmy smirked, recalling upon the memory with slight satisfaction. He felt quite a bit better knowing he couldn't handle Cindy. (Few people could, as Sheen and Carl had pointed out to him not that long ago, but it would have been entirely intolerable had this _Miles_ been able to best her.) He turned his head to look at her again, incredulously asking, "What are you doing?"

Cindy took the excessively chewed pen out of her mouth to respond, "Homework." Whether she heard Jimmy scoff or not, she carried on with her work.

"You're pessimistic enough to think we are going to die, yet you hamper yourself with _school work?_" Jimmy was miffed.

"Just in case," Cindy said, waving a hand dismissivly. "Now shush; I'm trying to study for _your_ test. Ooh, or you could help me practice my lines!"

As was Cindy's nature, she didn't even wait for Jimmy to give his opinion before chucking a thick packet of papers at his chest. Amazed at how he even missed _that_, Jimmy bent his knees and proped the script up against them, flipping through it bemusedly and recognizing it at Shakespeare's _Much Ado About Nothing._

"Page thirty-two," Cindy instructed, settling herself against the side of Jimmy's leg, missing entirly the glare Jimmy threw darkly at her. Jimmy complied, though, and flipped to the respectable page – and flushed. _In the name of Albert Einstein…!_

"So…ahh, where are we?" He scanned the page, wondering why God chose to torment him so by allowing her to choose such an open section.

"Line 290," Cindy said, picking at a fingernail. "'Tarry, sweet Beatrice.' Holds passionately, look deep into each other's eyes, blah blah, all that jazz… 'I am gone, though I am here; there is no love in you. Nay, I pray you let me go!'"

Jimmy had watched her, enraptured at her skilled capability to turn such a simple line into a masterpeice of its own, and didn't realize he was supposed to respond until Cindy gave him an impatient look. "Oh… 'Beatrice – '"

"'In faith, I will go!'"

"'We'll be friends first.'" Even though they were not his own words, Jimmy felt it was the corniest thing he'd ever said. _Who in the galaxy would go for a line like that?_

"'You dare easier be friends with me than fight mine enemy.'"

_I've got plenty of my own, thanks. _"Umm, 'is Claudio thine enemy?'"

Cindy didn't miss a beat, and despite Jimmy's less-than-adaquete skills in dramatics, she went on with fervent passion that gave him goosebumps. "'Is 'a not approved in the height of a villan, that hath slaughtered, scorned, dishonored my kinswoman? O that I were a man! What, bear in her hand until they come to take hands; and then with uncovered slander' – no, dammit – 'with public accusation, uncovered slander, unmitigated rancor – O God, that I were a man! I would it his heart in the market place!'"

"Aside from the very un-Shakespearian oath…ahh, 'hear me, Beatrice – '"

"Oh, shut up. 'Talk with a man at a window! A proper saying!'"

"'Nay, but Beatrice – '"

"'Sweet Hero, she is wronged, she is sland'red, she is undone.'"

"Cin…"

"What?" Jimmy blushed profusley as Cindy turned her head to look at him questioningly. He attempted to hide his profound mortification at getting caught up in the moment behind the script as he said, "Sorry, nothing; it's..." _hypnotically flawless, _he thought, … really good. Carry on, Beatrice…"

"Thanks, Nerd-tron. 'Princes and counties! Surely, a princley testimony, a goofly account, Count Comfect; a sweet gallent surely! O that I were a man for his sake! Or that I had any friend would be a man for my sake! But manhood is melted into cursies, valor into compliment, and men are only turned into trim tounge. He is now as valiant as Hurcules that only tells a lie, and swears it. I cannot be a man with wishing; therefore I will die a woman with grieving.'"

Jimmy had once again been staring,cursed silentlyand stupidly fumbled for the proper place. "'Tarry, good Beatrice.' Er… 'By this hand, I love thee'."

"'Use it for my love some other way than swearing by it.'"

"'Think it in your soul that Count Claudio hath wronged Hero?'"

"You really need to work on stringing the words together. It's not Chinese. 'Yea, as sure as I have a thought or a soul.'"

"'Enough, I am engaged'… and don't frankly care, but I'll keep that in mind for a future reincarnation where I might. 'I will kiss your hand, aaah-and so I leave you. By this hand, Claudio shall render me a dear account. As you hear of me, so think of me.' Geeze, has Shakespeare always been this corny?"

"You weren't any better back in Paris with you _serious eyes_ and _deep concern_," Cindy quipped, smirking.

"Oh, shut it. Ummm – ah, 'Go comfort your cousin. I must say she is dead. And so farewell.'" Jimmy nearly sustained a serious paper cut as he rounded of his final line and Cindy whipped the script away.

"Dramatic music plays, insert passionate kiss, whatever they think will buy tickets… Uhg! I can never get her insults and threats straight. They're so extensive! '…and men are only turned into tounge, and trim ones too.' Oh well, no one knows the difference anyways." She shrugged and leaned back against Jimmy's knees with a wide yawn.

"You'd think with your _own_ extensive insulting," Jimmy commented airily, "you'd be able to keep up easily."

"Oh, ha ha," she said dully, yawning again. "Whhhooa, I'm tired. What time is it?"

Jimmy glanced at his watch. "On Earth, nearly eleven. But we lost a few hours in travel time."

"No wonder we're not up to standards on the insults," Cindy sighed. She smiled at Jimmy – who was still laying on his back, knees up and supporting Cindy lest he move and she topple onto him – and said, "Thanks for your help. I'm going to turn it in."

She patted his hand before using his leg to lever herself up. Jimmy hadn't felt more… GAH! in all his life.

His skin seemed to be burning where Cindy had touched him and, despite the fact that the fear of her falling into no longer remained, he was stiff as a board and unable to move – save for his eyes, which seemed to be magnetically drawn toward Cindy as she settled herself down to sleep. Horrified, he turned onto his side – _away_ from Cindy – and blamed it all on Shakespeare.

* * *

A/N: SHAKESPEARE RULES, AND I LOVE MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING! (Obviously. I mean, it's JC in Rennaissance times.) Anyways…I'm afraid I've been reading around too much, because I've become horribly angsty! I've got these feelings of bitterness welling up inside of me, and I'm strongly tempted to write _vaguely!_ You can clearly see how disasterous this is. I'd like to blame it on pop-ups and info-mercials. (Alright, so I did have a few good posts in Halfa's site, but now I've gone back to my stubbornly appalling ways. I need a pickle. And some sleep. Will you all forgive me for posting _GROUP REPLIES_ to reveiws? I'm sorry, it will never happen again. I still love you, but I'm so gosh-darn TIRED! I hate school already.) 

**Flower Powerer:** Thanks, and I've _really_ enjoyed all your posts on Retroville Advanced! They're so hilarious and well-written!  
**pokey: **Head-first into another adventure! Yay! LOL, I'm glad you're enjoying the small things – like Tee and Libby, the crazy jam woman.  
**Bette Bavette: **I'm so glad you like it – it's so rare to find fanatics like myself – but don't taunt me with sending into the show, as it will NEVER happen. Madness! But, never fear, I'm a JC addict. Unless I go insane or suffer from sudden amnesia, it'll happen.  
**Elynsynos 18:** Haha, thanks! Will do!  
**Kyuugi and Iisha:** You guys are hysterical! I'm honored you would concider my story in the same classification as an all-nighter book. I'm enjoying your reveiws just as much you are my story, so don't leave me hanging and I promise I won't do that to you!  
**Numba1JimmyFan: **It's not, which is the bizare part. Meh, _c'est la vie. _Hope you liked this chap!  
**ficca: **Thank you so much! I'm afraid my spell-check doesn't work, actually, so if you are wondering about those few OOPS's, it's not my fault. And I'm so glad you are totally for my plot so far; I've had quite enough of the copy-cat fics myself.  
**Arien: **Haha, why thank you so much! I don believe you are the first person to be on my Mythological side. And good point about the color-coded blow-up buttons. Stupid eggs. Meh, my summer's been nothing. That nothing is but a memory now… basically, trips to Wal-Mart with some of my friends and making an idiot out of myself for their pleasure.  
**Hermione Granger63: **I bowed first, I WIN! Ahem…thank you again!  
**popsluts A.K.A. Lil and Lis: **Well, I'm glad you're here now and hope you continue to think such silly things about me!  
**Phantomhobbitses **and** Angela Jewell: **I'm glad I could satisfy your update needs! I did a stinky job of it this time, so I hope you can forgive me.  
**The Opal Fairy **(GASP, stealing is bad…lol)**, ReddistheRose (**crazy-head! You did WHAT?)**, coughdrop101, Kitty Nikki Chow, **and **Lils: **Thanks so much!  
And as for **Barlee **and **The CheezHead **… it's nearly midnight, it's the Friday night after my first week of school, and I just had a rather heated game of blackjack with one of my dear compadres (which I won, of course; the sweetarts are MINE,) so would you mind if I were to just send you an e-mail? Shortly, of course; just after I get a few hours of sleep. You guys still rock, though, and are the winners of World's Longest/Best Reviews!  
**To anyone I may have fogotten in my sleepy haze:** I'm sorry, thank you, and I still luv ya!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Jimmy Neutron, they would have fired me by now.

A/N: -cowers behind keyboard in plausibility of thrown vegetables- Heh heh, uhh… remember me?

If you do, and if you can find it in your hearts to forgive my long absence, please vote for my story at savejimmy(dot)com in their Best Fic of the Month award. Thanks to those that nominated me!

And if it's any consolation to you, chapter 14 is nearly finished, but I won't jinx myself and say I'll have it up soon. Let's go for "have it up eventually". (Much sooner than HALF-A-FRIGGIN-YEAR from now, though.)

* * *

Cindy had hardly lain down and closed her eyes when Jimmy shook her shoulder and woke her. It was in even quicker time that they were flying once more, heading toward Yolkus at warp speeds, a silence hanging lankly over them. 

The melange of feelings worming about inside her were all rather confusing on their own. When added to her current situation and the measly granola bar she had forced herself to choke down as an epigonic breakfast, there was an impecably hollow feeling inside where nausea should have been.

And that's all she felt – or rather, didn't feel. Hollow. Strangly lethargic, even, most likely thanks to the briefing she had received some time earlier. (Had she been blindly flying into this without any knowledge of their plans, she would have been far too livid to be placid.)

When the first pinpricks of light appeared in the ever-nearing distance, she blinked rapidly, realizing her eyes had been opened wide and searching for signs of their destination, and sighed lightly.

To her great fury, Jimmy had heard and looked down at her. To her even greater fury, the fluctuating emotions within were not as well hid as she thought them to be, because the look Jimmy pinned her with was one of great concern. Good grief, how she hated him.

"I'm _fine_, Nerd-tron," she hissed, rubbing at her stinging eyes. It sounded very unconvincing, weak from her lack of practice. (As blundering as Sheen and Carl were, they simply did not provide enough situations for her to become royally furious without their third counterpart.) She knew the look Jimmy was giving her implied he did not believe her in the slightest. To break an uncomfortable silence, she inquired, "What about you?"

Jimmy shrugged. "Well, I certainly hold no nostalgia, but I believe I am more _'fine'_ than you claim to be."

Cindy looked down at her lap, embarrassment for her disquietude and anger at the boy next to her for pinpointing it cancling each other out, leaving the antagonizing silence and hollow feeling within to reign once more.

Hollow. Unresponsive as they passed the leering gaurds at the main gate, silent as they gradually drifted through a stone channel, sangfroid as the Strato was shut off completely. Hollow.

Until she exited the rocket and set foot on the concrete landing-zone floor.

A cold dread numbed her, filling her being and running through her veins.

Most irritatingly, she still could not move on her own accord. Subconcious commands (and Jimmy, of course,) were what guided her from the dim and chilly landing area, down several winding corridors, through at least half a dozen sets of doors, (she faintly wondered how he knew which directions to take,) and finally into the grand entrace hall they had been received in nearly a decade ago.

Crossed laser-spears were parted in their apparently prepared-for arrival, piecing together the form of King Goobot, seated high upon his raised throne, they had obstructed. Cindy hardly heard Jimmy whisper _"You're being irrational"_ into her ear, but she felt her hand being firmly grasped by his. In waves, abandoned senses returned. She inhaled sharply; her hand was squeezed tentatively. With complete honesty, she repeated "I'm fine" and shook away Jimmy's hand and gratuitous sentiments with renascent – even if a bit belated – confidence.

Not hollow impeturbation. Confidence.

"Hello, hello!"

King Goobot smoothly decended and approached the pair, mechanical hands clasped behind him patronizingly. Cindy's gaze was inimical and fixed unflinchingly upon the self-proclaimed king as he came continually closer, excitement and old feelings of oncoming adventure stirring themselves up and giving her a warm, almost burning tactility just beneath her ribs. She could do this; it was almost like being ten again.

Almost being the operative word, of course.

The effort in the great show Goobot had made – the melodramatic entrance, the well-projected sinister smirk, the carefully clasped hands that gave him an almost cat-like grace (were any poor cat covered in snot and bulky machinery still able to muster grace and poise,) – was promptly and thoroughly squashed when he halted three-and-a-half feet before them. He stopped at such a specific distance because, had he gone any further, the angle which he would have had to glare ominously up would have been far too steep for his gelatinous form.

He hardly came four inches past Cindy's waist.

Jimmy shot a well-deserved glance of victory Cindy's way, supplementing it with an unneeded, "I did say you were being irrational…"

Goobot seemed to have forgotten the expanse of time that had passed as well. Cindy almost laughed out loud when she caught the slight, momentary falter his omnipotent sneer took.

The Yolkian, in summons of all his pretentious, louring authority, erected his squat figure as high as it would float. "Jimmy Neutron, here to save the day once again. Who could have predicted this?"

Although Jimmy had admitted his heroic tendencies not an hour before, he looked positively outraged at the mordacious way Goobot arraigned him. Quite frankly, Cindy felt rather exacerbated herself. This slimy, spineless creature had the nerve to force them from their homes with threats, threats expansive enough to lure Jimmy on a martyrous space expedition planned in less than 48 hours between gathering their friends and family members to saftey, teaching, (Cindy had nearly forgotten about school and the fact Jimmy's superior position as her professor had been her greatest concern only – good heavens, was that really just two days ago?) and with only eight hours of sleep accounted for, and he had the blatent audacity to upbraid Jimmy in such a way? The more Cindy thought about it, the more she wanted to swat Goobot into the nearest wall.

"You did, obviously," Jimmy spat. His voice was dripping with animosity, deluding the stoic indifference his features had adopted. "Or are you really so _bored_ you have the time of day to drill your gaurds through thespianic routines pointlessly? Have you run out of helpless planets to destroy?"

In that time of day, Goobot must have been preparing himself as well. While Jimmy's compressed temper was debased by his choleric voice (extorted through well-ground teeth), Goobot betrayed no signs of provocation. Nothing more than a perfidious smirk shone through his mask as he calmly said, waving a finger at Jimmy, "Now, now! You're in my dominion now, and I'll have none of this belittling lip."

Cindy was close enough to Jimmy to hear his slight, inadvertent growl as he exhaled arduously. _Break his finger off,_ she encouraged mentally. It was probably better for their situation that he did not receive this telepathic enticement.

"Besides," Goobot added, smirk growing into a full grin, as though he was quite enjoying himself (Cindy reminded herself he probably was.), "I do believe _you _were the one to come upon your own accord. Though…" He gave Cindy a enigmatic glance over before looking back to Jimmy with a short, sardonic laugh.. "—I did predict your motions rather well, didn't I? The paradigm never far from the deliniator…"

Cindy, thoroghly baffled, turned to Jimmy. She did not expect to receive a decent explanation – as much past experience reminded her of the limpidity Jimmy cluttered his elucidation with – but she felt an impulsive need to mollify her confusion in some way. And, upon noticing Jimmy, she knew he had understood Goobot perfectly well. For some reason, though, he was attempting to deny it.

To an inconversant like Goobot, Jimmy's refutation was indistinguishable, but Cindy could see it by the way he lightly sucked in his cheeks, and how his hooded-over eyes flitted about, unable to focus on a solitary item for more than two seconds. There had been numerous times these subconcious actions had been a product of a verbal exchange they had shared, and they were the only discernible collateral Cindy had of a victory.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jimmy snarled. Another sign of submission: Jimmy _never _used contractions.

"Of course you don't," Goobot simpered, seemingly undeterred. Their conversation having gone so well, he gained enough courage to continue on his short-cut decent. He floated between the pair of teens, hands once more serenely clasped behind him when he was not using them to vitalize his speech. "You've always been rather dimwitted. I mean, only an _idiot_ would attempt to storm a foreign and hostile planet with nothing but two-score 10-year-olds in his command."

Jimmy gleefully siezed the weapon Goobot had placed into his hands and, with a lofty smirk, satirized, "And what kind of an idiot does it take to _lose_ to said pre-teens?"

Despite how confident Cindy was feeling about their invulnerability, she thought that suicidally rich of him to say. There was not need for them to use their upper-hand to prode vexingly at their host – no matter how dispicable the host might be. Seemingly unruffled, (or perhaps,simply hiding it very well,) Goobot merely paused momentarily before continuing to circle about them.

"And yet you thought me enough of a threat to come here in a vain attempt to protect your friends," he drawled, lazily drifting toward a pair of tall oak doors.

"A choice I am initiating to be a waste of precious time," Jimmy retorted, watching the Yolkian with some suspicion.

Even if this last statement had beenbrash, challengingtalk, Cindy still thought it a bit galling and glared furiously at Jimmy. He had_ better_ not be wasting her time; she was missing vital rehersals, and the performance of _Much Ado About Nothing_ would be nearly half her semester grade!

"We'll see," Goobot murmered. Throwing open the double-doors, he asked brightly, "Now, who's hungry? I've got hot dogs!"

* * *

Cindy had no idea how Jimmy could be so composed. 

They were both seated in high-backed wooden – and particularily uncomfortable – chairs, placed before a long, elaborately-set table. Altough they were not chained to their seats, there were numerous gaurds on either side of she and Jimmy, well armed and preventing either of them from rising.

Cindy glanced up the table, taking in the finely-crafted silver and plate ware – though both of rather odd shape and decoration and nothing Cindy would have seen in her house, it was obvious they were of high quality to the Yolkians – and dozens of entrées, many of them indistinguishable by name or ingredient compenents. (Many of them were from Earth, however -- including the forementioned hot dogs -- a fantastic feat, whether by shopping through his own personal guard or smuggled in by some other means.)

At the end of the long stretch of table, some eight feet away from her and Jimmy, Goobot sat calmly, observing them with uncontained glee. In a caricature of succoring hospitality, he raised the goblet cradled in one hand, smiling infestivly.

Jimmy seemed indifferent to both the morbid amusment of their host and many spear points that hovered dangerously about his torso, as he was pulling a platter piled high with crackers, crisps, and _tuiles au parmesan _toward him with apparent relish and appreciation. As he carelessly served himself, he turned to Cindy, surprised to see she was not doing to same.

"Not hungry?" he asked, reaching blindly for a pitcher to the upper-left of his plate.

Horrified, Cindy watched the bubbly, purple contents (_Purple Flurp,_ she thought, highly taken aback.) pour from the fluted spout and into a large, wide-brimmed goblet. To her further horror, Jimmy lifted it to his lips and took a gratifying drink.

"No, just a little concerned about being poisened!" she hissed, eyes wide. "What are you doing?"

"He wouldn't do that," Jimmy assured her nonchalantly, setting down his cup in exchange for a butter knife, using it to spread a thick layer of basil _pistou _on a crispy cheddar cracker. "_No _villain would do that. It's some sort of honor code. The prisoner recieves one final night of luxury before they're killed or what-not. I must say, though,this is the most elaborate bravura to which I have been subject."

Suddenly, rising memories of past missions grating him, Jimmy threw down the cracker he was about to eat and vehemently raved, "I missed my class one time!"

Confused, Cindy opened her mouth to question Jimmy, but she was inturrupted mid-breath and didn't get the chance.

"Jet and I had set it all up – down to the miliseconds," he exclaimed, obviously still quite peeved at the memory. "We would have returned from Cameroon just in time for me to make it to the school… except the Maka-Njem tribe we were dealing with was _very_ set and loyal to the stupid luxury code. Not only did I bypass my first two classes entirely, I had a hang-over for a week. I was sure Princeton was going to fire me, but there was no way I could have said no to B.T.S.O. -- believe me, I tried."

He retrieved his cracker from his plate and stuffed it into his mouth huffily, swallowing forcefully and moving on to another plate. Cindy, a bit more convinced knowing Jimmy was living yet and had not dropped dead from his most recent consumption, did not bother him further with the subject, thoughshe touchednothingherself.

"From which your potency for intoxication arises," Cindy conjectured, too distracted by the guard warily hovering over her left shoulder to be amused. "What business had you so recently absorbed in spywork all the way out in West Africa?"

"Ivory trade," he said, voice muffled by a large mouthful of _buri-daikon_. With some more forceful swallowing, he cleared his palate to continue. "It's _technically_ not illegal out there, but that technicality is becoming a favorite of interloping smugglers. This is delicious, try some."

Jimmy pushed the yellowtail-and-radish dish toward Cindy, who resolutely clamped her mouth shut and shook her head. Even had she wanted to eat some, she would have been prevented by an inturruption from Goobot.

"Now Jimmy," he crooned, the smile in his voice incongruous to the sadistic glare he pinned them with, "you know it's not polite to have private conversations in company of your host!"

Jimmy gave a wane smile. "On the contrary, we were just talking about your prominent asceticism." Cindy, looming spear-points aside, threath of death aside, had to stiffle a giggle. "We've never seen such a ridiculous display of ersatz superiority. Tell me, though, who made the _buri-daikon_? It's delicious."

Goobot cooly pushed his chair back from the table and rose. "Enjoy it while you can, Neutron. When I've finished with your planet, you'll be lucky to find a solitary fish in any remaining bodies of water."

"Really?" Jimmy challenged, posing as uninterested, picking up his goblet once more and drinking from it.

"Yes, really," Goobot snarled, eyes blazing. He had abandoned all tactically imposed tranquility and was looking quite murderous. (Cindy shivered at the semantical exactness her word-choice might have.) "I won't go into the more gruesome details, as there is a lady present –"

"I don't mind," Cindy said stoically. Not an entirely true statement, but she was disposed to know what Goobot had planned. Jimmy conjectured this and, as he reclined leisurly back in his seat, looked over at her with a jocosely raised eyebrow.

There was no way to describe Goobot's mood other than fiendish. The way he fiendishly steepled his fingers together, the fiendish little laugh he let slip, the fiendish glint in his eye. He looked quite menacing – very _fiendish_ – and Cindy had never before realize what an image-ruining word "fiendish" really was. Quite comical, actually.

Humorous as it were, Goobot was anything but comical and was to be taken quite seriously… in all his_ fiendish_ glory.

"You think so… in that case, I'll feel no regret for your psychiatric pain." (_What a fiendish threat, _she thought facetiously.) He signaled to his gaurds, who, much to Cindy's and Jimmy's surprise, lowered their weapons and left the room.

"It was difficult to decide what I would do with you," Goobot continued, unconcerned the dismissal of hissoldiers left him virtually defenceless. He difted down the length of table opposite Jimmy and Cindy. "I had so many deliciously sadistic ideas, I thought it impossible to choose just one for your disposal."

"I feel so important," Jimmy snorted, helping himself to another cracker and resting his hands behind his head.

"You should," Goobot concured, leering unpleasantly. "You've been the basis of my thoughts for some time now, but thanks to your brilliant scheming, I've been unable to find you." He leaned eagerly toward them, hands braced on the solid tabletop. "It's really been quite infuriating, to know the exact coordinates of your pathetic little home but unable to find you anywhere within its limits – like you were cloaked."

He glowered with resilient intrepidity at Jimmy, who unflinchingly stared back. Both figures remained motionless for some time, simply staring. Cindy was growing impatient; Jimmy, with his impecably strange, recurrent, and down-right creepy ability to readher feelings without eye contact, smiled wanly at his advisary and broke the visual connection first, taking a sudden interest in a sconce some distance to his left.

A sudden movement off the Cindy's far right caught her eye, but when she turned to get a full and proper view, there was nothing but a thick wall hanging, fluttering softly. Repremanding herself for being over-paranoid – even in her current setting and situation – she turned her eyes and deficit attention back to Goobot.

"When you suddenly appeared on my radars, you can only imagine how ecstatic I was," the Yolkian rambled on, pulling back and resuming his pacing."It was then I knew my petty, quick riddence of you wouldn't be enough to satisfy. You wouldn't have the time to suffer."

Jimmy had tensed in his chair, but it wasn't from anger. He was biting his lower lip in consentration and, ever-so-casually, Cindy noticed him reach for his watch, press a button, and continue stretching forward, as though he had been meaning to snatch the dinner roll off Cindy's plate the entire time. He was waiting, some well-hidden signobviously alerting him,and the meaningful glance he tossed her way implied she would do well to keep her eyes open. Their plans would soon be in effect.

"I had to come up with something _better_, something that would really _hurt_ you." The smile plastered on Goobot's face reeked of satisfaction. Giddy with sadistic pleasure, he had missed their silent exchange. "It took some time and extreme thinking, but I believe I've finally come up with something you will truly appreticate."

He was rambling now. Obviously they were not the only ones lying in wait.

Curiosity piquied, Cindy looked back to the wall hanging, which was now still and lying flush against the stones behind it. A tapestry of such thick material, especially one that was positioned so close to its anchor, would not have moved like it had with the simple air currents in the room, would it?

"Should you live long enough, I'm certain it will be an unprecendented display."

Quite suddenly, Jimmy sprang from his chair. A split second later, before Cindy even had a chance to follow his actions, the double-doors at the far end of the dining hall burst open. Just as Jimmy had predicted.

Cindy's innate, defunct reflexes sprang to life. She stood – so quickly her chair was thrown off balance – as the gaurds quickly environed her, pressing in with the slightest of apprehension at the sheer determination that must have been evident on her face. So great and spastic was her excitement she nearly missed her prepensed target as she flung herself into a wall of her intentional captors.

_This _was where her colors were thrown into magnificent light. Morbid as it may sound, fighting was her predilection. She had nearly forgotten how much she had enjoyed it, what a release it was, how the rush was near drug-like, during a lengthy absence from the event. Jimmy could keep his precious chemistry formulas and theoretical bases of the economy and the pitiful paycheck that ensued from teaching them. Science could be _his _best. She wanted _this_ back.

Though her form was a bit rusty, she swung into a comfortable candency soon enough. Among many things that were, it seemed _tae kwon do_ was not entirly forgotten.

"You'll never see you're planet again!" Goobot mocked, raising his voice to be heard over the melee. He was lazily retreating, floating toward the large oak doors with reluctance, as though trying to catch as much of their trouncing before he had to leave.

Cindy ducked down, narrowly avoiding the laser-spears of two charging Yolkian gaurds, touching her knees to her collar-bone before extending her legs quickly and springing into the air, flipping over the offending gaurds and laying them flat with a pair of well-placed round kicks.

"At least," Goobot went on, pausing at the threshhold, "not the way you remember it."

Cindy was unexpectedly grabbed from behind, the nettled pause at Goobot's words her condemnation. She struggled to free her wrist, managing to do so before her other was snatched and held firmly.

"But have no fear: you _will_ see the result of my plans before your termination."

The laugh in Goobot's voice was all-too giddy. This was nothing more than a game to him, she and Jimmy no more than intrusive pawns to be swatted away before the finale check and mate.

The pure, unaudulterated rage within Cindy, roiling her insides and coursing through her veins, was adequate enough to free her ensnared wrists, but it was cut short by a puissant blow to her head.

She didn't have enough feeling or control to know whether she fell to the ground before her vision went entirly black.

* * *

A/N: This was, by far, the hardest chapter for me to write. (Obviously**. Six frikkin' months** without an update! What the heck is my problem!) Despite the fact that I had _dreams_ about it, if that isn't the most pathetic thing you've heard, I couldn't get my layout plan onto paper for the life of me! Not to mention I had a scary few months where I had not even the most fleeting desire to write. I think I short-circuited my enthusiasm after I bought myself neon-orange Chucks. (As seen here --> butterbean137(dot)livejournal(dot)com(slash)7677(dot)html. I guess wearing part of my deranged story killed the primative sense of responsibility to write more. Anyways, hope it was worth the wait. 

I thank Halfa-Goddess (Happy Sweet 16, love! Belated a bit, but what else is new about me? ) and Cutie5 for continually asking why my fat butt wasn't in gear. (In your own way.)

And don't forget: www(dot)savejimmy(dot)com They only allow a PC to vote once a day, so I can't win on my own!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **BAH, I hate these things. I've run out of creative ways to say 'it's not mine'.

A/N: After the train wreck of my last post, I had to do some reconfiguration of this chapter. It turned into a re-write of several sections, giving me lots of lovely, decently-written blocks with not a transition to be seen. So if this chapter seems choppy to you, just know that's because IT IS.

But come on! Two chapters posted within _twelve days _of each other! That's _got_ to deserve a vote or two on the savejimmy website!

* * *

Cindy gradually progressed from the fog of unconciousness, a lump the size of a tennis ball pulsing agonizingly on the crown of her head. Slowly – laboriously – she let her eyelids flutter upwards, then close again. When no greater pain than she was already in followed the action, she opened them fully, confused momentarily as to why Jimmy was hovering over her. She groaned as the events of the preceding hours slowly trickled back to her memory banks.

"Good," Jimmy stated (more to himself than her), giving her a fleeting smile, both his actions and word-choice blatently defying how Cindy did indeed feel. Jimmy turned away, entirely missing the nasty glare Cindy had summoned.

"Don't sit up," he instructed, walking to the far corner of – what Cindy could only assume to be – the cell King Goobot had them thrown into. Cindy had no intentions to disobey this order, as the glare she had painstakingly thrown at Jimmy had drained her of the little energy she had stored up, though she did resent being told what to do quite a bit. She let her eyelids droop once more, listening to Jimmy a yard away drop something onto the damp stone floor with a loud clatter, only able to muster the faintest of scathing emotions at his clumsiness.

Jimmy's voice – once again just above her – startled her into full conciousness when he asked, "Apple, tomatoe, or grape?"

"What?"

Contradictory to Jimmy's previous command, Cindy eased herself up on her elbows to better stare blankly at him. (Surprisingly, her pulse quickened as poor circulation that had been staved by the uneven floor was rejuvinated, delivering freshly oxygenated blood to her aching limbs.) He had something clutched in both hands and was plainly waiting for an answer.

"Juice," he clarified, sitting back on his heels and pressing a button of the hypercube in his hands. Several tall, sealed containers popped out and onto the ground between them. "I doubt you wish to keep that headache you must have, and I wouldn't chance water on an empty stomach after what you've endured." He pressed another button and a small bottle of asprin flew into his expecting palm. He asked again, "Apple, tomatoe, or grape?"

Cindy did not know whether it was her extreme disorientation or a simple lapse of insanity on Jimmy's part, but she found herself speechless with shock and disgust. She simply shook her head, mouth hanging open.

"Apple, then," Jimmy decided for her, reaching out to one of the containers on the floor and opening the top. He handed this to Cindy – who had now fully sat up in absolute horror – along with the bottle of asprins. She had been stunned into a slow response time and was unable to refuse the items. She held them limply, waiting for someone to pop out and shout "April Fool!"

"Jimmy," Cindy began, her attempted placid tone coming off as rather strangled, "why the hell, may I ask, are you worring about _juice_?"

Jimmy simply stared, a strange look of slack vancancy upon his face. He glanced emotionlessly from the fist clenched around the flask of apple juice to her face again before saying, "Your electrolytes are low. Can't have you collpsing on our way out."

Cindy was highly ruffled, peturbed at the lack of concern the genius seemed to have at the ridiculously staid situation they were in. He had lost the remainder of his dwindling mind! He was a complete andindiputable nincompoop! _This_ was the object of her life-long obsession? (She vaugly wondered what type of nincompoop that made _her_.)

"Jimmy," she cried, scrambling to her feet and not even bothering to keep a false calm in her voice this time, "an egg-shaped mass of snot is in the process of – well, we don't know exactly, but something horrid – and you are worrying about juice! _Juice!_"

He rose from the floor, a task executed with much more grace than Cindy's disoriented mad clamber. He pulled what looked to be a large rubber ball out of his pocket, an enlarged version of that one might find in a grocery store gumball machine. He dropped it and caught it as it bounced off the stone floor, his cool mood of nonchalance aggravating. "Not juice. Your _electrolytes_. What you _really_ need is a banana."

He bounced the ball again. Then again. And again.

Cindy felt abashed for snapping so quickly, every slightly-reverberated _fonk!_ of Jimmy's damned ball as it bounced mocking her rudeness, but she swatted it away quickly lest it accidentally show.

"Oh…'kay. So, what now?"

Jimmy continued without appearing affronted. "Our entire escorting party – sans Libby, Sheen, and Carl, who set us back a few hours with their unscheduled attendance and necessary return – are currently in set posts, waiting for their signals. Everything has been planned out _flawlessly_, time lost made up for, but – " he caught his ball, holding it in a dormant position as he turned up his watchface " – we don't move until 2100 hours… a little more than an hour and 45 minutes from now."

"So just what the heck are we supposed to do for the next two hours?" Cindy exclaimed, regaining some of her frustrated exasperation. She trusted him entirly, be he a nincompoop or not, but the thought of sitting about and wasting time while their friends were in eminant danger was a bit more than irking.

Jimmy shrugged noncommittally, walking to one of the rough cells walls and plunking himself down against it. "I was thinking a good make-out session would be climactically fitting, but you are obviously quite peeved with me."

He threw his dollar-store toy at the wall opposite him – a distance perhaps fifteen feet at the maximum – securing it in his grasp as it rebounded from the floor at an angle. It took two repetitions of this performance for Cindy to realize he had been serious.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," she growled, ears ringing queerly as she crossed the cell to sit on the worn floor retrograde Jimmy, some three feet from the portion of wall he was occupying as a stand-in "Catch" partner.

"I'll let you," Jimmy responded, his aura of vexatious calm unwavering. "Denial takes up a great amount of human pathos."

Cindy was far from pleased with Jimmy's new approach to conversation. The last thing she wanted was maturity while she was emprisoned in some claustrophobic excuse for a hole on a God-forsaken planet lightyears from home, coated in dirt, hungry, and cursed with the prensence a throbbing knot on the crown of her skull and a nincompoop of a genius for company. In sheer grumpiness, she asked rhetorically as she fumbled with the child-proof asprine cap, "What are you on?"

Jimmy tried to smile, and she noticed just how slack his muscles were. "Some form of a truth potion."

Cindy choked on the swig of juice she had just taken.

"Had I a few spare hours to tinker in my lab, I'm certain I could duplicate the compound. It's nothing more than a complicated mix of standard chemicals."

_Tha-tonk! _

"I really don't think they knew how to use it."

_Tha-tonk!_

He captured the ball in his fist and held it still as he thought. Cindy, still trying to expell the apple juice from her windpipe, would have belittled him up one way and down the other, but her few wheezy attempts sounded no different from her whooping coughs.

"You know," Jimmy said thoughtfully, resuming his single-player game of Catch, "I would stake good money hestole the formula for _my _Truth Potion and tried to tweak the potency!"

"So what are you saying?" Cindy gasped. Jimmy had to wait a few moments for another bout of racking coughs to pass. "They know what you have planned!"

He shook his head in the negative, running the hand not occupied with his childish game through his short hair and scratching the nape of his neck. "Like I said, their procedure and administration implied they hadn't taken the time to research its values and properties. They neutrilized some of the key qualities during their modifications; I was able to dodge anything serious."

Cindy was skeptical; it must have shown.

"It just loosens you up, really, relaxes everything, like a really strong dose of insomnia medicine." He gave another weak, lopsided grin, a reedy laugh slipping through his partially open mouth. "You should have seen me – they had to lock me in a room for twenty minutes before they could ask me anything; I think had I been any more high, the drugging would have been illegal."

Cindy grimaced, the divulgence of Jimmy's current state being an improvement none too comforting. "How long is it going to last? You can't go gallivanting off into trouble if you can't even think straight, you nincompoop!"

"Now, let's not get personal," Jimmy scorned. "I'm fully capable of managing myself in our future gallivanting, thank you very much! The major muscle loss was only temporary, a side effect before the serum was at its peak performance. I managed to move you, didn't I?"

_Tha-tonk! Tha-tonk!_

Cindy desperately wished to snatch the ball from midair. "What?"

_Tha-tonk!_

"What – did you honestly think the Yolkians were so thoughtful as to place you gently to the ground, flat on your back and limbs paralell to each other?"

At loss for redeeming words,she just sat there. Stupidly.

"I don't think Goobot expected my control to be compromised so greatly. The serum's main purpose was to ease any fluctuations in my emotions – so I'd just tell them what they wanted, you know?"

She was still moved to aphonia by the second ensign of Jimmy's second-nature caring and could only mutter, "Oh." Stupidly. Like an _imbecile_.

Glancing down at her hands, she realized she had not yet managed to swallow an asprine. Poppingtwo of the small white capsuls into her mouth and downing them, she grumbled, "I wish you would have told me where I'd end up." She paused, shivering slightly as a draft whistled through the small gap beneath the door. She hugged her knees to her chest. "It's rather disquieting regain conciousness in a jail cell some thousand lightyears from home without the full details of _why_."

Remorsefully, Jimmy apologized. "I hadn't thought, at the time, every detail would be beneficial – to your aid or my health. I'm sorry."

Honestly, Cindy didn't know whether knowing where she would awaken would have helped her or not. Certainly, when she had been given the shortened version of the day's plans that morning (Good heavens, just that _morning?_ Amazing it took Einstein to apprehend time was relative.), she hadn't been paying full attention, but something like "Oh, and by the way, you will be knocked out by a bash to the head, thrown into a damp and filthy pit, and wake nauseated and in need of a Purple Flurp" would have stuck out. Shrugging it off, she looked back to him with a half-smile. Blinking, she commented as she first noticed, "You're wearing glasses."

Jimmy raised an eyebrow, the most extensive physical attribute he was able to express thusfar. "You're quite quick on these sorts of things. Tell me, how long did it take you to discern my eye color?"

"Oh, shut up," she grumbled, setting aside the flask of apple juice before wrapping her arms tighter about her bent legs. "I was disoriented from both a good knock-out and, don't you forget so _very_ soon, your lack of divulgence on our whereabouts."

"Ah, yes, the lever for my guilt."

"Short-lived, you heartless fiend, but fully earned, if you ask me."

"What if I didn't?"

"I don't think that's a qualifying necessity. With or without your permission, my opinion is dominating."

Jimmy laughed, eyes lit in a smile unseen. "Going to pick up right where we left off then, are we?"

Cindy shrugged, suddenly feeling – well, a bit _embarrassed _at the terms of their separation. Here she was, insulting him in varying ranges to meek questioning to snapping irrately to exchanging sarcastic banter, (while he was probably wondering whether she was bi-polar or just plain crazy,) without any right.

Even long before the Neutron family had moved, they had grown apart, rarely speaking upon the even rarer times they came upon each other despite the chain of mutual friends. It became harder, she had realized, to keep up a façade of loathing when they were in separate classes, and it became harder to remember just what she had said about the brainless nincompoop as time went on. Best to keep quite and avoid contradicting herself, she decided. That resolution severed the flimsy tenders that connected them; they simply stopped being tolerant friends.

Jimmy shrugged, a mocking facsimile to Cindy's reposte, and shook his head exasperatedly. He observed her in silence, seconds ticking by, shadow of a smile still lighting the cobalt eyes behind wire-framed glasses. (Though it must have been Cindy's imagination, because the near-indiscernable twinkle vanished, so fast she questioned its original existance, and the blank emptiness resumed.) Then, as though there had been no lengthy silence: "So what have you been up to the past – good grief, six years, has it been?"

Cindy shrugged again, sighing at the sharp tug in her chest. Damn her malleable human pathos, she still loved him!

Jimmy sighed heavily at Cindy's silence. (With a sudden leap of her insides, she gleefully realized he thought her to be a snob, snubbing him off caustically at the reminder of their pervasive reticence. It was an incredibly odd thing to be giddy about, but it meant he felt just as uneasily hesitant as she was toward a rekindling of their – very bizarre – friendship.) As though realizing just how large the rift between them had become, his brow creased with forlorn regret at the time passed and the lost opportunities, ruefull spirit shining through the rapidly-dwindling effects of the Truth Potion. With another wrench beneath her breast, Cindy wondered herself what might have filled those long years had they remained near each other, physically even if not emotionally.

Trying to brighten his dolor, Jimmy goaded lightly, "Still whipping massive amounts of butt? That was some primed footwork out there; I'd forgotten how quickly you could flatten someone."

Alleviatedly siezing the opening, Cindy laughed. A bit too forcefully. "Geez, I haven't gone to a martial arts class since I was fourteen. One of those things that died with.. well, every other aspiration I had, after my mother stopped caring." _And you left me,_ she added silently. It was facinating how she could amuse the fact he had been a driving force only when thegeek was right beside her. (Her graduation speech did not qualify, due to his unannounced snooping. He was supposed to be half a country away for the _vocal_ part of her admission.)

"I think that is the worst thing I've heard all night." A corner of Jimmy's mouth was turned down in a twisted frown.

Cindy raised an eyebrow. "All that bad, eh? Not even the threat of our home-planet's destruction outweighs a lost interest in competition?"

"Not when coming from you. You _live_ to put the one-up on any willing opponent."

"_Lived_. Sure, it's still fun to kick some butt around, but it's not my life's goal to make sure my math test has a higher score than yours anymore."

"You know, I never really understood that." He sat back and threw his near-forgotten ball again. It smacked off the wall near Cindy's shoulder with a bit more force than was required. "Why did you always try to best me?"

"Why are you asking me? I thought you were supposed to be the genius."

"My point exactly. I mean, as brilliant as you are, was there never a recognition it was a deplorable attempt, inevitably fruitless? No offence."

Cindy sighed. "None taken. And of course _I _knew, but my mother was domineering. She chose to ignore that minor detail and went on ragging me about my inferior work."

She picked at a bit of rubber pealing away from the canvas of Miles' sneakers, finding it easier to quelm her self-pitying remorse when she wasn't maitaining eye contact with Jimmy. When she realized his hands had fallen still, relieving the ball resting in them from its forceful bashing, she tried to restart the awkward conversation. "So what's with the specs?"

Even though she wasn't looking, and even though he wouldn't have been able to manage it well, she could _feel_ the knowing smirk radiating off Jimmy in all its smug glory. Damn_ the nincompoop! _she thought savagely. _Damn him to hell -- why, in the name of all that is good, did I have to fall for the most tactless know-it-all of the twentieth century!_

"Someone knocked out one of my contacts." Cindy, having moved from further defacing Miles' high-top to pulling at a drawstring of her khaki, cargo capris, started when a large red ball rolled into her line of vision and bumped gently against her sneakered toes. "And as accommodating as the Yolkians are, preparing such a lovely lunch for our arrival and allowing us the use of this fine cell, they were not so gracious as to allow me time to search for it. It's a good thing Goddard packed for me; I'm practically blind. Too many late-nights in the lab without proper lighting."

Cindy picked up the ball, rolling it between her fingers as she asked, "Where _is_ Goddard?"

Jumping to his feet, he exclaimed, "Leapin' leptons – Goddard!"

Concern turning to curiosity, Cindy looked up in time to see Jimmy jam a frantic hand into his jeans pocket, extract his hypercube, and release Goddard from within.

"Sorry, boy," he muttered apologetically. Goddard, unforgiving of his lengthened imprisonment, shook himself vigorously and ambled spitefully away to sit beside Cindy, who thought it hilarious but curbed her tongue for the sake of the poor dog and his bruised feelings.

"Shame on you, Jimmy Neutron," she scolded, patting Goddard fondly on the head. "Have you no respect for your inventions?"

"While I highly doubt PEDA will be on my case," Jimmy grumbled, "Does it please you to know I have already been repremanded about my terrible pattern of neglect by another concerned source?"

He gestured to the ball in her hand. "You were supposed to throw it back."

Cindy did so, asking, "Who?"

"Cody – I believe you met him, if just breifly."

Cindy arched an eyebrow. "What – the blonde pansy that ruined my Saturday at Zoey's?"

"The very same, whose IQ is – oh, how did you put it? I rather liked it."

"Still leaves a number large enough to be confused with tax influctions after dividing mine. Though I think gas prices would have been a suitable analogy as well."

"Pff, no kidding."

"Why on earth would you want to hang around someone like that?"

"Complete and utter boredom." He sighed heavily. "The desperate acts I have commited the past several years are downright shameful. In all honesty, though, he's not that bad."

"Yes, I can imagine that beyond the cockiness, obnoxious immaturities, and overbearing cologne he's a nice guy."

"Much like Nick, right?"

Cindy's breath caught in her throat. He knew about Nick – and it _bothered_ him! The comment had been quick to come, obviously meaning it was prepossessing, and had been delivered with obdurate, clearly practiced ease. She would have prefered the invidious glimmer behind his glasses to be more prominating, but she took into account factorials of denial and the truth serum.

"Alright, I take that back. So beneath the cockiness, obnoxious immaturities, and sexy bod the pansy's just a straight-out jerk?"

Jimmy paused, thoughtfully observing her. "If that is the case, why on earth would you want to date someone like that?"

Well, now they were just going in circles! Cindy thought. _No fair cheating, come up with your own accusations. _"Complete and utter boredom – though I don't think Cody was able to satisfy your need for the occasional make-out…?"

Goddard lifted his head from the floor at this.

"_No_," Jimmy snarled, corner of his mouth turning down again.

Cindy didn't bother to contain a blossoming grin. "I didn't think so – really. As for _me_.. as much as I hate to admit it –"

"So don't," Jimmy interjected.

Cindy could have squealed aloud. "Well, what about you? Was Nicolette all talk, or does James Isaac Neutron; Boy Genius really have 'the sweetest lips on this side of Mars and the ass to match'?"

A steady blush was working its way up Jimmy's collar and cheeks while Goddard watched on eagerly, appetent for vidication for his extended imprisonment and most likely accessing the footage of forementioned event.

"I really would like to change the subject," Jimmy muttered.

_Hah. Yeah right, Brain-zilla._ "Alright, I'm sorry. I simply figured you'd be more willing to discuss Nicolette with me than, say, the lack of contact we kept, your ambiguous reasons for bringing me here, the heart-covered note on you sidetab –"

"It was only once, and she came on to me first!" he burst out, eyes widening.

"'First'. Meaning you complied with moves of your own?"

"No! Well, sort of -- you know, I _really_ do _not_ want talk about this!"

"But I do. And you forget: my opinion is dominating."

"Seriously, Cindy. Anything else. Ask personal questions about the heart-covered note!"

"No, that's alright," she murmered, a mental note coming back to her attention, having nothing to do with Nicolette or Jimmy's sweet ass and lip combo. "I want to know: what did Goobot mean he said he'd predicted your motions?"

Despite being rather emotionless already, Jimmy's face fell. He looked down at his shoes, running the rubber ball along the outer edge, timidly asking, "Are you certain you wouldn't rather berate me about a girly note on my bedside table?"

"Unless it's a billet-doux from Cody, no. And I'm sorry, but I don'tconcider you one to suddenly swing both ways because of utter boredom." She didn't know if she should be exasperated at his pitiful stalling or all the more enticed by his potential answer. "What did Goobot mean?"

Jimmy fidgited uncomfortably. "He said… a lot of things that made sense, but I disregarded them, thinking it was kindling for his attempted intimidation. Quite honestly, I don't think he implied you specifically, but he said I would bring someone along, that I couldn't handle the backlashed of my stupidity without the aid of my friends."

Cindy was having difficulty discovering where his embarrassed discomfort lay in that admission. "Well, duh. _I_ could have told you that, you nincompoop. Is that all?"

Jimmy looked incredulous, not expecting this response. "Is that a— Cindy, only _you _could find a lower blow. Honestly, me not able to deal with my repercussions?"

With a snort, she scoffed, "Oh, as if, Nerd-tron! You're forgeting the sheer expanses your stupid repercussions from stupid stupid moments can reach! Not only would you be _dead_ if Sheen, Carl, Libby and I hadn't been there all those years, every child in Retroville would have been orphaned."

Jimmy could find no way to respond to this save muttering indistinguishably under his breath. After doing so for what he deemed a reasonable span of time, he reluctantly, sullenly muttered, "Prob'ly right." Cindy almost missed it, it was so quiet.

"Darn right I'm right!" she exclaimed, smirking smugly. "Apology accepted, and you're welcome! And I must thank you, as well: to this day, if the term 'hypnosis via television' is typed into an internet search engine, my name comes up as the first link, with the over-dramatized story of how I saved the world from brain-washing aliens under the guise of friendly grandmothers. Do you realize how hard it is to earn the place of the first link on the internet?"

"Who in their right mind would rake a search engine for such a ridiculously specific and uncommon topic?" Jimmy reviled.

"I would, duh! Any time I need a little ego boost." She chewed her lip musingly. In a quieter, more serious tone she went on, "I'm sorry for spazzing out on you. When I woke up and earlier at lunch. And on our way to your apartment."

Jimmy shrugged, dissmissing it carelessly. "If things like that are to be taken seriously in such an idiosyncratic setting, then I too need to apologize – for spazzing out on your front porch and dragging you away without so much as a minute of explanation and no time to announce your departure properly."

He glanced down at his watch, then said, "It's time."

* * *

A/N: So, obviously, I'm not the best of updaters. I do apologize, but with the combination of school, house work, and bouts of minor depression, this story is regretably taking a side seat. Not back, mind you! But side. I've been burying myself in other writing, different stories and categories, depending upon how surly my mood, and most unfortunately my fluffy Jimmy Neutron moods have been minimal. Know I do try, though, I love all the reviews I get, and I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON THIS STORY. I already have the final two chapters written, and I'll be damned to come this far and not continue on to put those up!

NINCOMPOOP!


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